The Fangs of Midnight
by Selrekla
Summary: A young greenrider, her brownrider weyrmate, and their friends are attacked by both felines and a new species while on an unauthorized leisure trip to Drake's Lake...how will the four dragonriders fare while they and their dragons are hurt? Chap. Three up
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PLANET PERN, IT'S PLACES, OR IT'S PEOPLE. (Dragonriders of Pern ®Anne McCaffrey)

Author's Note: This fic is set in an alternate universe where Aivas was discovered, but somehow the plan to end Thread fails, so the deadly rain still falls! Also, any person, creature, or place you don't recognize...those DO belong to me, so NO STEALING!

Plot Summary: A young greenrider, her brownrider weyrmate, their bronzerider friend, and his weyrmate are attacked by both felines and a new species while on an unauthorized leisure trip to Drake's Lake...how will the four dragonriders fare while they and their dragons are near-mortally wounded? Also, will they be able to endure their Weyrleaders' wrath when they find out about their little excursion?

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Prologue

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It is now the middle of the Thirteenth Pass of Thread on Pern. No more Long Intervals have occured in the nine hundred and seventy-five Turns since the Ninth Pass, the time of the infamous F'lar and Lessa of Benden Weyr, as well as Masterharpers Robinton and Sebell, and the ever-famous Lord Jaxom of Ruatha, rider of the eternal white dragon, Ruth. Many Northern Holders and Craftsmen on Pern have begun to think that their current dragonrider protectors are nothing compared to the ones back in the Sixth and Ninth Passes. As for how things in the Southern Continent have been going since the Ninth Pass and Interval, there is so much to cover.

Southern Weyr was destroyed in an earthquake, thus causing the dragonriders residing there to create another Weyr complex farther inland, which they named Korani Weyr. Monaco Bay Weyr, on the other hand, has done somewhat less unfortunately. The Weyr was hit by a tsunami well into the Eleventh Interval, which caused the Weyr to rethink its position. The entire Weyr complex was taken apart and moved further inland, where the threat of tsunami waves was less damaging, at least.

Honshu Weyrhold, first started by F'lessan of Benden Weyr and Tai of Monaco Bay Weyr back in the Ninth Pass, has thrived since its first days of very few inhabitants. The Weyrhold, which had obviously been built to support large numbers of people, was soon flooded with Pernese of all kinds, and the dragons whose riders had transferred to Honshu weyred in manmade caves in the nearby cliffsides. F'lessan decided that, as Honshu was certainly no proper Weyr, it would be referred to as a Weyrhold, and that its leaders would be dragonriders that were referred to as 'Weyrholders'. Since Honshu's re-founding, several more Weyrholds have been founded in both the Northern and Southern continents. Unfortunately, it had been agreed by the Weyrs that no queen dragons would live in a Weyrhold unless absolutely neccessary, so the Weyrholds were to be led by dragonriders of the same bloodline as the rider who started the Weyrhold. F'lessan and Tai's Bloodline still holds Honshu, which is now led by their many-times-great-grandson, F'rellin, rider of bronze Traybith, and his mate, Adrina, rider of Arth, who is the first queenrider to be allowed the position of Lady Weyrholder.

As for new Weyrs, only two new Weyrs were founded in the South. Since several Weyrholds were founded, dragonriders found little need for as many Weyrs in the South as there were in the North, where Weyrholds were few and far-between. Eire Weyr, named after an island nation on old Terra, was situated along the coastline of the Southern Continent, nestled somewhat precariously atop a high cliff halfway between Korani and Monaco Bay Weyrs. Sorna Weyr is situated on a newly-formed island, conveniently named Sorna Isle, directly between Korani and Eire Weyrs. This story is centered on Eire Weyr and it's Holds and riders.

Eire's current Weyrleaders are considered among the Weyr's best Leaders to date. Kalusia, rider of gold Alaeith, is a strict Weyrwoman who will not tolerate sloth in her Weyr. Her facial features are soft and gentle, making her seem younger than her actual twenty-three Turns, while her tall, lithe, and shapely body betray the youth that her face projects. Her fire-red hair, lightly laced with a bright silver, falls in a silky cascade to end between her shoulderblades and the small of her back, which is kept up in a bun underneath her riding helmet during Threadfall. Almond-shaped eyes of a light sapphire blue make her medium-toned skin seem even darker than it really is. A'rek, rider of bronze Sulith, on the other hand, is a slightly easy-going Weyrleader whose actions seem to buffer those of his Weyrwoman's. The young Weyrleader's jovial nature also seems to be slowly rubbing off on his weyrmate, for Kalusia seems to be losing her strictness the longer she spends with the Weyrleader. A'rek's light sea-blue eyes always seem to glitter from an inner humor, but can look strict and serious when need be, and compliment his dark skin. His wavy black hair falls to the nape of his neck, the hair itself slightly layered. A'rek is nearly a full head taller than Kalusia, and his slim, muscular figure is typical of a bronzerider.

Now...without further ado, I bring to you the Thirteenth Pass on Pern!

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Chapter One will be up A.S.A.P.

--Selrekla


	2. Chapter One: Flicker of Fire

CDs Listened to while writing this chapter: GODSMACK- Godsmack (1998), Awake (2001), Faceless (2003), & IV (2006); STAIND- Break the Cycle (2001), 14 Shades of Grey (2003), & Chapter V (2005); EMINEM- Curtain Call: The Hits (2005); JOSH GROBAN-Josh Groban (2001) & Closer (2003); NICKELBACK- All the Right Reasons (2005); MATCHBOX TWENTY- More Than You Think You Are (2002); GREEN DAY- Nimrod (1997) & American Idiot (2004); SEETHER - Karma & Effect (2005) [Yes, it took that long for me to write...I'm a perfectionist, after all...

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Chapter One: Eire Weyr, Sorna Weyr, Current Pass 1.14.3475-1.16.3475

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K'ralli watched with slight amusement as his weyrmate bathed her dragon in the ocean near their makeshift weyr. K'ralli was tall, standing at an even six feet and six inches, but Tamarin, his mate, stood nearly as tall as he was, which delighted him--he'd never seen a woman that he didn't have to lean so far down just to kiss. K'ralli suddenly broke into a slight smirk as Anudith, Tamarin's large green, managed to soak her rider in the cool seawater. He knew that Tamarin would be frustrated with Anudith's antics when she returned to their weyr, which caused him to smirk a little more.

_And what, pray tell, are you smirking about?_ Kyubith, K'ralli's brown, asked, noticing his rider's near-grin and feeling the man's sudden humor. _Anu is just playing with her rider...as I recall, I do the same with you, Kiral,_ the large brown added, using his rider's old nickname that now only the two dragons and Tamarin were allowed to use. Kyubith was nearly the size of a medium-sized bronze, unusually bright, and had what most would call a deformity in the wing department. The brown dragon's wings were longer and broader than most, which was an advantage during Threadfall, as the seemingly ungainly wings made the big brown faster and more maneuverable in the air. This added speed and maneuverability are also what helped the brown catch Anudith every time she rose since her first flight...was it four or five Turns ago...?

_Oh, nothing, Kyu...don't worry about it,_ K'ralli answered, still staring at his beloved weyrmate. He loved everything about her--the way her fire-gold hair sparkled in the sunlight, the way there was nothing but love for him in her ice-blue eyes, even down to the way she moved and behaved. He took the time to glance over to Anudith, whose deep forest hide was made even darker from being wet. The flecks of a lighter color, which people from back on Old Terra would identify with a stone called 'jade', in the green's hide stood out even more because of this. He could easily see why his brown lad was obsessed with the younger green--she was nearly as big as some of the larger blues weyred at Eire, and she was faster and more clever than greens normally were.

Another quick glance brought K'ralli's gaze upon his own dragon, who was casually lounging in the sand nearby, having already had his bath and swim. Kyubith's hide was a light tan in color--a perfect contrast to his mate's dark-tinted hide--with flecks of a deep chocolate color splashed throughout. K'ralli always thought that this made an interesting effect--being a former Artist, it always seemed to him that someone took a bucket of paint and threw it on the dragon's skin. The brown was rather large for his color--he was nearly as big as most bronzes on Pern, with very nearly the intelligence to match. Just as his attention was fully set on the brown, Kyubith glanced at his rider before turning his attention back to his green.

_You _do_ realize that you were staring at her, don't you?_ Kyubith asked his rider, his mental tone dripping with sarcasm. The brown had a dry sense of humor, if any at all--that was just one of the many things that rider and dragon shared. _Seriously, what were you smirking about earlier?_

_Nothing at all, Kyubith...drop it,_ K'ralli said warningly to his dragon as Tamarin walked up, Anudith prancing smugly behind her. "Did you have fun, dear one?" he asked, smirking again as he gently wrapped his arms around his weyrmate's shoulders.

"If you call getting nearly drowned 'fun'..." Tamarin muttered, glancing at Anudith with a jovial glint in her pale blue eyes. "What were you thinking about, K'ralli? You looked awful pensive," she asked as she relaxed a little into her weyrmate's embrace. She could never understand how in all of Pern, K'ralli fell for her. She relaxed even more when K'ralli tightened his hold.

"Hmm...just thinking of how lucky I am to have you for a weyrmate," the answer came in a slight whisper in Tamarin's ear, which made her shudder slightly from the feel of K'ralli's warm breath on her skin. He chuckled slightly as he tightened his hold even more and began to lightly nuzzle her ear. "I was thinking, love...how about you, me, Arallin, and T'bias go to Drake's Lake for a little while? Just to spend some time together?"

"You only want Arallin and T'bias to go because Arallin's your sister, right?" Tamarin asked, her voice faltering slightly from K'ralli's nuzzling. The brownrider always knew what to say to get her to agree with him, even if it went against her better judgement. Anudith had always told her that even though K'ralli was good for her, he would more than likely be the thing that undid her one day. One thing that Tamarin always hid from her dragon, with considerable difficulty, was that K'ralli was her undoing the day that she Impressed the green.

"Well, I have to keep my promise to my mother to watch out for Arallin. And besides, T'bias and Arallin enjoy spending time with us," K'ralli replied, his voice soft and calming. "You know that T'bias sees me as kind of an older brother, as well as a role model, for all that I'm just a brownrider, where he Impressed that bronze of his..."

"Some role model, you light wing," Tamarin muttered, turning herself around so that she was facing K'ralli, his emerald-hued eyes locking onto her ice-colored ones. "You always did seem to be more the kind to Impress a blue instead of a brown--or so the older riders tell me."

"But you're glad that I Impressed Kyubith instead of some scatter-brained blue that would have given Anu hardly any companionship...?" he asked, his voice slightly pleading for her to agree. He knew that riders older than he was, as well as riders with dragons the same age as his Kyubith, always said that they figured him for a bluerider rather than the rider of one of the largest, if not the largest, browns on Pern. He also knew that Kyubith was never really interested in the greens until Anudith was hatched and began to grow. K'ralli himself was beginning to wonder, before Anudith's hatching, if something was wrong with Kyubith--the brown was five Turns old back then and by all means should have been very interested in greens, but he never bothered to participate in any mating flights. Kyubith always said that none of the greens that had hatched then interested him, but the moment Anudith stepped out of the Hatching Grounds, Tamarin in tow, the brown dragon was instantly fascinated by the dark-tinted green.

"My love, you know full well that any dragon you Impressed would have been more than enough companionship for Anu," Tamarin started, slightly concerned by K'ralli's question. "But Anu said that she has been fascinated with Kyubith, and no other dragon on Pern, her whole life. She used to think it was because I was so enthralled with you, but she knows better now, I believe." A slightly wistful smile played its way across the woman's lips at a sudden memory. "Besides, I was more afraid of Kyubith not flying Anudith than the actual fact that it was her first mating flight!"

"By the way, won't it be time for Anu to rise again in a sevenday or so...?" K'ralli inquired, a sly smirk gracing his tanned face. He knew that no matter which dragons challenged his Kyubith for the right to mate with Anudith, the brown would valiantly defeat them. Kyubith had even outlasted several needy bronzes to fly the green, so he was more than confident in his role as Tamarin's hopelessly devoted weyrmate.

"Obviously not within the next two sevendays, Kiral..." Tamarin muttered as she unwillingly stepped out of K'ralli's embrace. "Besides, that's not something I'll willingly admit," she added, smirking slightly before turning and walking towards their weyr. "So, when are we planning this little pleasure trip, love?"

"I was thinking that we wait a few Falls before going...I heard that there will be two or three Gathers in about a month, so we could slip away then--the watchrider will simply think that we are off to one of the Gathers, so they'll think nothing of it." He couldn't help but follow Tamarin as she walked to the well of fresh water outside the weyr and watch her draw out water for her bath. The woman was covered in salt from a combination of the seawater and sweat, as was he, so a bath for both of them, or at least a shower, was neccessary before heading to the Weyr complex so that K'ralli could speak with his Wingleader, who also happened to be the Weyrleader of Eire, A'rek. K'ralli had always admired A'rek as a Weyrleader--he was much better at keeping the Weyr in good spirits than R'ken, who was not only Eire's previous Weyrleader, but also A'rek's father. Not that the brownrider had anything against R'ken--he was Tamarin's Wingleader, after all--but the old bronzerider and his dragon, Kallanth, were getting up in years, so K'ralli was sure that R'ken would soon retire himself from Threadfall.

"Seeing as we're going up to the complex, I should probably talk with R'ken about the next Fall," Tamarin noted as she dragged the water bucket to the large tub. "I dread having to risk Anu again in two days, as always," she muttered as she poured the cool water into the tub, glancing back at K'ralli. "You should join me, Kiral--you have to be clean when you present yourself to A'rek. He wouldn't mind, really--it's Kalusia who'd have a fit about A'rek's wingriders not being clean." Tamarin's voice suddenly grew slightly cold at the mention of the Weyrwoman, which set K'ralli's mind going.

"Sounds to me like you don't approve of our Weyrwoman, my love," K'ralli muttered as he grabbed another full bucket of water for the bath. "I know you don't really think of her as the epitome of a Weyrwoman, but Kalusia really does try her best. And she is your sister, no matter how the two of you may or may not regret it."

_You still have the vocabulary of a Harper,_ Kyubith commented, opening one blue-green eye a slit. _How is it that after eleven Turns of being my rider, you_ still _manage to sound like the Harper you used to be...?_

_Well, Kyu...it's as Master Rorius says--"Once a Harper, always a Harper". And besides, I really got more training for Artistry than Harpering,_ K'ralli replied as he dumped the water into the tub. "Tammie, just be grateful that we have Kalusia as a Weyrwoman, rather than that hot-head Alema," he added to Tamarin as she poured the last of the water into the tub.

"You know that Alema's not really a hot-head, K'ralli...it's just that there are a lot of problems with weyrlings at Sorna," she replied as she eased her long hair out of the loose braid she had tied it up in previous to bathing Anudith.

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"Alema, dear heart, calm yourself. You know that the weyrlings just enjoy messing with your head," K'len said as he watched his weyrmate, Alema, pacing throughout their weyr. "Besides, it's D'kal's job to keep them in line, isn't it?" D'kal, the old brownrider, was given the job of Weyrlingmaster by the previous Weyrleader several Turns ago; by all means, the man had done his job until just recently, when Alema became Weyrwoman in her mother's stead. Mysath, Linella's queen, refused to rise last Turn, so Alema, as the next-oldest queenrider, became Weyrwoman.

"Not that D'kal and Ryucheth don't do a good job, mind you," Alema started, pausing in her pacing to stare at her mate. "It's just that some of the more reckless weyrlings will actually try to fight Thread when they've been told hundreds of times that their dragons aren't old enough!"

"Who? I'd like to teach these younger ones a lesson or two," K'len asked, his amber-colored eyes suddenly narrowing in slight anger.

"M'kin, for one--he thinks that just because he Impressed a bronze, he can do whatever he wants. He even believes that as soon as his Urith is mature enough to mate, he'll be able to do anything."

"Foolish young weyrlings...if only I could knock some sense into that young troublemaker..." K'len muttered, his eyes glancing from the doorway to his weyrmate and back. He knew that Alema did not really approve of M'kin anyway, what with M'kin being his son by another woman, whereas to this day, Alema had not become pregnant with his son herself. They had a daughter, a charming girl who took more of her looks from her father, who had already stood for Impression and come out the proud rider of the queen dragon from Zointh's last clutch, though K'len and Alema would have been proud of Anama even if she had Impressed a green, or not Impressed at all.

"Well, one can certainly tell that he's his father's son," Alema muttered jokingly, smiling slightly towards K'len. "Besides, he'll learn soon enough that Urith isn't invulnerable...We'll just have to wait and see if he learns this the easy way or the hard way." Alema hoped that K'len would see that she approved of M'kin--she understood that they hadn't known each other at the time the boy was conceived, so she had nothing to hold against him. "By the way, love...do you remember when the next Fall is scheduled? In all the trouble the weyrlings are causing me, it seems to have slipped my mind."

"You're lucky to have an understanding man like myself as your Weyrleader," K'len muttered, chuckling slightly. "If my memory serves me right--and it normally does--the next Fall for this Weyr is scheduled in four days."

"Hopefully M'kin won't put himself and that bronze of his into any danger for this Fall," Alema muttered, glancing towards the weyrling barracks. She could easily point out Urith in the throng of young dragons--the bronze's light-toned hide stood out among the darker bronzes of the clutch. She could faintly see M'kin sitting next to his dozing bronze, his arm lightly draped over Urith's neck. It reminded her of how she was with Scyth for about two or three Turns after the golden queen had cracked her shell. She smiled slightly when M'kin glanced in their direction and waved slightly. She knew that the young man was hoping that his father could see him, and be proud of him for Impressing a bronze. "In fact, I'll go have a talk with the lad right now."

A few minutes later saw Alema standing right behind M'kin, aware that the boy didn't even know that she was there. She quietly reached out and tapped the young rider's shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise and slight fear. A slight laugh escaped from Alema's lips as the younger bronzerider glared slightly at her, but the look in his amber eyes told her that he was amused by her somewhat childish actions. "So, young man, are you going to pull some reckless, wher-headed stunt this coming Fall...?" she asked him, her tone suddenly serious. "K'len and I are getting angry that you're constantly risking not only your life, but Urith's as well, pulling your stunts in Fall."

"That last one was mine and Uri's last, Alema," M'kin replied, glancing nervously towards the Weyrleaders' quarters. This gesture, M'kin knew, would get the Weyrwoman to think that he was worried about his father's disapproval of his actions--which he was. In truth, Urith had told him that he was scared that something might happen to M'kin during one of said stunts. It was just like Urith to worry about his rider, but honestly care less about his own. The bronzerider always told the young dragon that his constant worrying about him would lead to the dragon himself getting hurt somehow, but Urith always shrugged it off.

"If you are so sure of that, young M'kin of Sorna," Alema muttered as she turned and began to walk away. "But be warned...you pull another stunt like that, you'll be getting the full extent of your Weyrleaders' wrath."

M'kin glanced towards the WeyrlingMaster, old D'kal, for moral support, but the brownrider just gave him a look just said that the younger rider deserved whatever was coming to him. The young man decided to just drop it and talk with his friends a little more before the training started. His best friend, Tarlinel, had yet to Impress, but he had another three Turns before he was too old. Besides that, Iana's Orinth had a clutch hardening on the Sands at that very moment. He was hoping that Tarlinel would Impress at least a brown--he didn't want his friend to Impress a foolish blue or a sex-crazed green. But until then, he had his other friends, plus new friends that he made in the Weyrling Barracks. Anama, the new queenrider and his own half-sister, was busy with her own lessons with Alema and the other two queenriders, Iana and Kelra.

A sudden change in his line of thought brought M'kin's mind to wonder if K'len would approve of his growing fondness for Kalira, who was one of the junior weyrwomen at Ista Weyr to the north. A quick shake of his head brought the young rider to his senses--being a junior weyrwoman, Kalira could be weyrmates with bronzeriders from other Weyrs. He quickly decided, with Urith's bold agreement, that he would attend golden Mesuth's next flight after his bronze matured enough to fly the queen dragon.

_M'kin, Roketh says that by then, you may not even care about Kalira any longer,_ Urith interrupted the young man's line of thought sheepishly.

_Well, he only says that because K'len says it, I'm sure. In any case, Kalira promised to come visit when she and Mesuth could find the time. We, my bronze lad, are going to visit them as soon as we can, which will more than likely be in a sevenday, after the next Fall,_ M'kin assured his growing bronze, who already was a fraction larger than his clutchmates.

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"Alegar, for the Egg's sake, sit yourself down and catch your breath before speaking more!" Tasior, Lord of the recently founded Lunas Seahold, told the Harper as he pulled a more comfortable chair up to his large desk and gestured the slightly older man to settle himself. The Harper had rushed in, completely unannounced and out of breath, which had startled the young Lord into dropping the glass of fruit juice he had been sipping at. As he made his way around his desk, Tasior made short work of sweeping up the shards of glass that glittered on the wooden floor.

"Tasior, my friend, you do not understand the severity of the situation, I'm afraid," the Harper muttered, pulling a kerchief out of the pocket of the light vest he wore and gently dabbing the sweat off his face. He was twenty-five, barely six Turns older than Tasior, but he was one of the rare cases in Harpering history where someone who by all means should be a journeyman had such an intellect that the Masterharper himself had the man in question elevated to the rank of Master. Alegar watched for a moment as Tasior's light green-blue eyes scanned his face, knowing what the younger man would find there. The man knew full well that his normally gentle face was suddenly twisted slightly in surprise, and that his light silver eyes were wide with worry. "I have just received a message, sent by fire-lizard, from Journeywoman Azana at Monaco Bay. She states here in this note that Thread, which isn't due to fall in Monaco until tomorrow, is falling now! Do you understand what in Faranth's name this means?" As Alegar spoke, his hands started their litany of flitting about as he spoke, something that only happened when he spoke about something of grave importance. He was posted to Igen Seahold, which was Tasior's home Hold, before he transferred to help his friend with his new project, and he remembered that every time he made some sort of important speech in his old Master's stead, his hands would start flitting around him. It was a curious habit to him, but to his old Master, it was a slight nuisance.

"Master Alegar, if Thread is falling early there in Monaco, it could very well happen here at Lunas. With the dragons' uncanny habit of bespeaking one another instantly, I'm sure the Weyrs are already aware of this fact, but I am having Krendi send a message over to Keltinos of Eire Hold at once. Old Kelti deserves to know of the possibility of Thread falling early." 'Old Kelti' was Tasior's favored nickname for the Eire Holder, even though Keltinos was barely three Turns older than him. Eire Hold, much like his own Lunas Seahold, were fairly new, just founded and the Hold proper built within the last Turn. Before that, Eire Weyr protected only forest and a few Runner stations situated here and there. "My memory of scouring the old Records for Father is growing loose, Alegar...Has Thread fallen earlier than expected before?" the young Lord asked as his bronze fire-lizard, Krendi, fluttered into the room, ready to receive his message. Tasior quickly rolled his message up, placed it into its carrying case, and tied the case to Krendi's foreleg before ordering the little bronze to convey the message to Keltinos of Eire Hold. The two Lords often relayed messages to one another, so Krendi knew the other Lord's face by memory.

Alegar's eyes sparkled slightly as the little miniature dragon winked between. "To be truthful, Lord Tasior, incidents like this have indeed happened before. I read in the Harper Hall Archives, back when I was a mere apprentice, that Thread can fall between mere hours early to a few days ahead of schedule. I suppose it's Thread's way of keeping our dragonrider protectors on their toes, as it were," the Harper answered, a slight smile playing its way across his face. "In any case, knowing Weyrleader A'rek, he'll send one of his reliable riders out here to make sure Lunas is prepared for even an early Threadfall. I would expect either his Wingsecond K'ralli, T'bias, or young K'nar to arrive here tomorrow." The man's voice gave away his hope that it would be K'nar who would arrive at the Hold, not the brown or bronze riders. He had a strong fondness--no, he'll be truthful, a love--for the bluerider that he had not felt in a long time. He had recently sent a request to Master Rorius stating that since Eire Weyr's old Harper had recently passed away, that he be sent to the Weyr in his place. Rorius didn't know of Alegar's love for the bluerider, so he wouldn't see a reason to deny him, and he could be as close to K'nar as he could.

Tasior, seeing the longing look in his Harper friend's eyes, gave the man an understanding smile from across the desk. "I'll send Krendi to the Weyr when he gets back with a request for K'nar to come, if you wish." He laughed slightly as the Harper's silver eyes lit up at the kind gesture and quickly departed the room. Soon after, Krendi arrived from his previous mission, giving his friend a smug look that could only mean that the young fire-lizard had told old Kelti's older bronze lizard off. "Well, Krendi...It seems I have another message for you to send. Master Alegar wishes K'nar, that young rascal of a bluerider, to come inspect the Hold tomorrow, so I'm sending you off with a request for just that to Weyrleader A'rek," he told the little bronze as he sent a mental image of Eire Weyr and its dark-skinned Leader. "Be on your way, Krendi...Time is of the essence!"

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K'ralli sauntered into the Weyr complex, his usual slight smirk gracing his face as every rider greeted him in some way. He knew it was because he was A'rek's Wingsecond, not to mention the Weyrleader's most trusted rider, more than anything, but it still felt nice to be well liked in the Weyr. He quickly glanced back as Tamarin, wearing one of her finer khaki trousers and a light blue tunic that accented her pale-colored eyes, nervously walked into the room. She knew that she'd be welcomed, being a kind-hearted girl and K'ralli's sole weyrmate, but she still couldn't help but be her usual shy self. The brownrider quickly grabbed his weyrmate's hand and pulled her closer to him, if only to guide her on her way to her Wingleader.

"K'ralli!" the tenor voice of one of his fellow wingmen, K'nar, rose up above the crowd. Like K'ralli, the bluerider usually was among the first in the Weyr to hear any news. "I just heard something from one of the Monaco Bay blueriders that you may not like."

"You mean about Thread falling there a day early?" K'ralli asked, glancing at the younger rider as he walked up. "Yes, I already knew. My childhood friend K'nai is a brownrider at Monaco Bay. His Rokhaenth bespoke Kyubith on my way here and told him of the situation. I take it you wish to perform the inspection on Lunas Seahold?" The older dragonrider knew about the budding relationship between K'nar and the Master Harper at Lunas, Alegar. He also knew that A'rek trusted the young rider enough to send him to ensure that one of the Holds was prepared enough for a surprise Threadfall, and that K'nar would more than likely make some time to be with Alegar before returning to the Weyr, but would not shy away from his duties.

The bluerider's merry black eyes nearly glittered with new-found happiness. "You'd talk to A'rek for me, then?" K'nar was a handsome man, K'ralli could not deny that. The young dragonrider was tall, nearly as tall as K'ralli--which often made the older man wonder if K'nar could possibly over-burden Ryodanth, which was ludicrous--with eyes often likened to black diamonds by men and women alike. His golden-blonde hair was a direct contrast to his dark eyes, and his medium-toned skin seemed to be the median between them. K'nar had a kind face with gentle features that didn't really stand out--another thing that made people think that K'ralli and the bluerider were somehow related. K'nar and K'ralli both didn't support that claim. K'ralli was Hold-bred from Igen, and K'nar was Craft-bred from Paradise River--so if the two were related, it would be if one of K'ralli's male relatives had traveled to Paradise River and either stayed there or had a one night stand with one of the Hold women. Either scenario was highly unlikely, so K'ralli always deviated from that subject.

K'ralli's slight laugh seemed to catch K'nar by surprise. "K'nar, I don't need to talk to him for you! He trusts you and knows that you'll gather the information necessary to ensure the Seahold's safety before you become too...pre-occupied..." and K'ralli grinned when the bluerider's tanned skin flushed, "in Master Alegar's quarters to return. And I myself trust that you'll have Ryodanth tell at least Kyubith, if not Sulith or one of the queens, about the readiness of the Hold beforehand?" K'ralli could tell from the young man's vigorous nod that he would and dismissed him as he and Tamarin reached R'ken. "And now, R'ken, I leave my undeniably beautiful weyrmate in your capable hands. Make sure no one else tries to seduce her away from me!" he told the bronzerider jovially as he walked away. He smiled a little bit as he turned his head to look at his lover and noticed her blush--it was all too easy to make the greenrider blush when Anudith was close to rising.

"Ah, K'ralli, I was just about to have Sulith ask you to come see me," A'rek greeted K'ralli with a half-hug as the younger brownrider walked up to him and the small group of queenriders. The man's usually bright eyes were dimmed with a sense of gravity that K'ralli had only seen a few times. "I heard about Monaco Bay, and I personally agree with K'jin--if Thread continues to do this, it'll end up taking some of the less-prepared Holds and Crafthalls by surprise. I want either you or T'bias to check on Eire and Trelig Holds. I assume that K'nar wishes to check up on Alegar, so I'm allowing him to check on Lunas." A slight sigh escaped the young Weyrleader's lips at the mention of the young Master Harper. "I heard that Alegar is requesting Rorius to transfer him to our Weyr, so that he'll have more time with that scamp. Hopefully that'll happen--I don't like seeing K'nar so...distracted...during Threadfall. It makes it easier for him to make mistakes that way."

K'ralli quickly ran through the remaining two Lords Holder in his mind as he was making his decision. Keltinos of Eire Hold was a calm and capable Lord, not to mention easy to get along with. He had come South from Keroon to make a living for himself instead of blindly going along with what his father told him to do. Kami of Trelig, on the other hand, was more of a volatile sort, ready to blame A'rek for just about anything. The slightly older Lord Holder had come down from Tillek, but apparently had spent his fostering in Bitra, which accounted for the slight temper the man seemed to barely be able to keep under control. He quickly decided that he, being an ex-Harper and capable of dealing with such personalities as Lord Kami, and that it would be a better choice to send T'bias the the easy-going Keltinos. Not that T'bias couldn't handle Kami--the bronzerider was an ex-Harper himself--but he was less used to such volatile behaviors. "I've got it all figured out, A'rek. Make sure that T'bias goes to Lord Keltinos, and I'll attempt to cool Lord Kami's head for you. Hopefully, Lady Maen will be well enough after her latest birth to assist me in calming her volcanic rock of a spouse."

The bronzerider gave a slight laugh at the unintended joke. "You honestly think that of old Kami? I must say, K'ralli, you should freeze your Harper tongue before speaking so to the Trelig Lord. Such eloquent words would surely send the man right off the deep end." With that, A'rek gave his Wingsecond a hearty thump on the shoulder before returning to the conversation Kalusia was having with Shinaldra, the next-oldest queenrider in the Weyr. From the sound of it, they were having a heated discussion about Niremu's new-found obsession with young Kelini of Eire Hold. The young Holder was rather attractive, but was still young, only fourteen Turns of age. Of course, with the upcoming Search by Sorna Weyr for their new clutch, the boy could possibly become a dragonrider. Of course, being a Lord Holder's son didn't guarantee a bronze dragonet Impression--the boy could just as easily attract a young brown to him, or even a blue or green if he had homosexual tendencies. K'ralli decided to leave before he was drug into the talk and went to search for T'bias. It didn't take him long to find him--he was almost always talking with R'ken about Threadfall a few days prior to the event that dragonriders dedicated their lives to. "T'bias, we really must talk," he told the young bronzerider as he grabbed T'bias' shoulder and drug him into a far corner of the kitchen.

"K'ralli, what is it? Can't it wait...?" T'bias asked, calmly letting himself be led away from an important conversation. He knew that the older man wouldn't interrupt the two Wingleaders unless it was something of utmost importance, but it was still irritating when he did so. He and R'ken were considering the extent of the injuries in the upcoming Fall when he had suddenly been pulled away by the Wingsecond. The bronzerider's amber eyes flashed with anger before quickly settling back into their usual jovial glitter.

"No, T'bias, it cannot. Didn't your friend O'kil tell you? Didn't Nakuth bespeak Raidrath?" K'ralli's questions came one after another, not even giving T'bias the time to answer before another took its place. "No, I'm sure that Nakuth did...if not him, one of the other Monaco bronzes. In any case, you are to report to Eire Hold first thing in the morning to inspect for any signs of ill-preparation for Threadfall--especially early Threadfall." K'ralli paused, waiting for the bronzerider to assess the situation. He nodded slightly when the younger rider's eyes widened slightly in acknoweldgment. "I will go to Trelig Hold and see to it that old stick-in-the-mud Kami doesn't find some way to fault us dragonriders for Thread falling earlier than scheduled. He'll be indignant, I'm sure, seeing as it's his Hold that's scheduled for Threadfall next."

"Don't worry about it, K'ralli--I'm sure that your smooth Harper's tongue will keep Lord Kami from blaming us, and especially from blaming A'rek and Kalusia. I'm glad you decided to take Lord Kami, because I know if I went to Trelig, I'd end up throttling the man. At least Lord Keltinos knows what dragons, and their riders, are capable and incapable of. And I take it I'll be correct in assuming that rascal K'nar is headed for Lunas Seahold in the morning?" T'bias sighed and shook his head slightly when K'ralli nodded. "As long as he informs one of us before anything distracts him." He knew K'ralli's silent response from the look in his emerald-hued eyes--You mean before Alegar distracts him.

The bluerider and the Master Harper had been seeing each other ever since Lunas was founded and, until just recently when the Weyr's own Harper succumbed to a disease and was found dead in his quarters, were very content with K'nar making scheduled visits to the Seahold. After that, K'nar and Alegar were desperate to be as close to each other as possible. Being a Seahold, Lunas was in no real need of a watchrider--the Hold was situated within a cliff face, with only one way in and out of the Hold proper--so K'nar couldn't volunteer to be the Hold's watchrider. Alegar had come up with a rather practical solution to the problem--he had requested to be moved to Eire Weyr, to take up the position left by the now-deceased Master Larkan. This allowed the two men to be near each other, as well for Alegar to continue doing the thing he did best--Harpering. T'bias remembered the silver-eyed Harper from his days as an apprentice--like himself, Alegar was Craft-bred and quite adept at Harpering. If K'ralli hadn't been Searched by Igen Weyr and Impressed Kyubith, Master Rorius had once told him, he would have acheived early Mastery as well.

_I have already told Tarinth and Arallin of tomorrow morning's mission, Toby, _Raidrath's tenor voice informed his rider, the bronze's mental voice brimming with amusement. _Tarinth asked me if they could accompany us, seeing as it's starting to get obvious that Anudith is getting proddy. _The bronze knew that Anudith and Tarinth were close, and that the two greens didn't really spend that much time around the other green dragons in the Weyr.

_Well, Aidra, tell Tarinth that it'll do her some good to be with the other greens tomorrow. Besides, she and Anudith both need to take a break from hanging around us males--they'll more than likely start to drift away from their mates! _Of course, T'bias was kidding, for he knew that Anudith and Kyubith were besotted with each other, as were Tarinth and Raidrath. Raidrath had flown a couple of queens in his time at Fort Weyr, but their riders preferred their previous weyrmates to him, so he had decided to take Fort's Headwoman's Assistant, Menala, up on her offer to be weyrmates with him. T'bias had gotten one child out of the pairing, Ainala, who would be old enough to stand at a Hatching in about four Turns. T'bias had already considered having his daughter sent to Eire, but Raidrath had always told him that Menala would prefer their child to stay on at Fort until she Impressed and was out of the Weyrling barracks.

The bronze's chuckle in his mind interrupted T'bias' thoughts. He knew what the dragon would tell him--that Tarinth said she wouldn't stray from the light-toned bronze dragon's side. _In any case, Toby, Ara was wondering if you and her could spend a quiet night in your weyr tonight. I already told her that it was okay with you, but I would feel better after having actually asked you._

_Of course it would be okay with me, Aidra. You know as well as Ara that I would love nothing more than to enjoy her company tonight, what with Thread falling in two days or sooner. I'm willing to bet that Thread will start falling when K'ralli and Kyubith are at Trelig...that should be a nice surprise for that wherry-minded Kami, _T'bias told his bronze as he quietly snuck off towards his weyr, where he knew that Arallin, his weyrmate, would be waiting for him.

Arallin was a beautiful woman, but her beauty didn't stand out as much as Tamarin's or Kalusia's, which made her all the more beautiful to him. She was about an inch taller than T'bias was, which always surprised him, with beautiful almond-shaped eyes the color of brilliant sapphires. Her red-brown hair, which tumbled down in waves to the middle of her back, was as soft, if not softer, than the finest silk that Pern had to offer in his opinion. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew that she was special, and both he and Arallin hoped to have children soon. He knew that Arallin wanted a son, and about a Turn after Ainala was born, T'bias longed for a son himself.

_They are, as you probably have guessed, already in the weyr. And about Ainala...maybe we could go to Fort and talk to Menala about it...? _Raidrath suggested as T'bias drew closer to the weyr and saw both bronze and green dragons on the ledge high above. Seeing the two dragons together always made the man think of light and shadow--the green was much darker toned than the bronze, making her look like a greenish shadow whenever she was next to her weyrmate. He watched with a hint of pride as Tarinth reached up and nuzzled Raidrath's long neck. He walked up and nodded to the two dragons in greeting, knowing that he could have spoken to them, but it would have alerted Arallin to his arrival, and he wanted to surprise her.

_She's bathing, so that'll be more than easy, Toby,_ Tarinth told him, her eyes seemingly glittering with amusement. Tarinth approved of the man, which made her rider happy...besides, the man was good for Arallin.

T'bias nodded to the green and slowly walked into the weyr, trying to be as quiet as possible. He glanced into the bathing room to make sure that Arallin either wasn't watching for him or was to engrossed in her bath that she wouldn't notice him. She was leaning back against the edge with her eyes closed--if he could remain quiet enough, he could sneak up behind her and surprise her. He slowly, careful not to trip on the various articles of furniture that had been moved around in the sleeping room, slipped into the bathing room and behind his weyrmate's head. T'bias gently kissed Arallin and laughed when she jumped slightly.

"Toby, I thought it was clear that you were not to scare me like that!" Arallin muttered, smiling slightly at her weyrmate. "And seeing as I know that Tari knew about this, I'm surprised that I didn't know you were here! But in any case, I'm done with my bath," she said as she eased her way out of the big tub, grabbing a towel from its nearby peg and wrapping it around herself. She took just enough time to kiss the bronzerider before taking another towel and beginning the arduous task of drying her quickly-growing hair. "I need to trim my hair a bit...It's getting too long."

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Chapter Two will be up A.S.A.P...I have schoolwork and many pets to take care of, so please bear with me for just a little...

--Selrekla


	3. Chapter Two: Burning Ashes

Author's Note: Thank you for the comment, Unthank, and like any good author, I am grateful for the critiquing. If I may point out one thing about your reviews...the part where you say Kalusia is too young for silver-laced hair. I know many people, a seven-year-old boy and a barely year-old girl among them, that has bright, shining silver like Kalusia's lacing their hair. Silver is a natural hair color, but not many people have the right genetics for such. As in Kalusia's case, her family has a history of rare 'silver-laced hair' in their members, so this is a result of genetics and not aging. Also, thank you, Airdrekus, for adding your comments on the silver hair dilemma. Also, the reason for the Weyrleaders' descriptions in the prologue is so that the readers will understand what those specific characters look like, as they are the Weyrleaders and will be mentioned quite a bit in the course of the story, and I assure you that no other such descriptions will appear in later chapters.

CDs listened to while writing this chapter: 12 STONES-Potter's Field (2004) & Anthem for the Underdog (2007) [This chapter took a little less time to write because originally it was to be part of the first chapter, but I decided to shorten it for the sake of the readers' eyes...I know that my eyes hurt from the days and days of sitting in front of this computer typing the prologue/first chapter, so I figured my readers would appreciate shorter chapters than I intended so that they wouldn't have to look at a screen for a while...

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Chapter Two - Lunas Seahold, Trelig Hold, Eire Weyr & Hold, Current Pass 1.16.3475-1.17.3475  
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Iasur, son of Lord Tasior of Lunas Seahold, was awake and wandering the narrow ledges outside of the Seahold when he saw a blue dragon appear in the sky--a _familiar_ blue dragon. He quickly ran to the large cavern mouth that was the entrance to the Seahold and towards the Lord Holder's quarters. His sudden barging in quite obviously startled his sleeping parents, who quickly gave their son a cold look.

"What is it, Iasur?" his father asked, suddenly realizing that the boy wouldn't wake them in such a way unless it was important. Tasior and Iasur were obviously father and son--they looked nearly exactly alike, and acted very much the same.

"K'nar and blue Ryodanth have just arrived, Father. I just figured that you would like to know before his dragon lands right in the middle of the court," Iasur replied, a slight smirk on his face. "I mean, Ryodanth isn't as big as Alaeith and Sulith are, but he _does_ take up quite a bit of space nevertheless."

Aleenia sat up and muttered something about getting a brew of _klah_ going before standing up and walking out. Tasior regarded his wife with a fond look before turning back to his eight-Turns-old son. "You seem rather used to saying the names of the Eire dragons, considering they've only been your Weyrleaders for barely a Turn. Now how is that, dear son...?" the man asked, his green eyes narrowing a bit in suspicion. He had always suspected that his son was somehow, without his knowledge, taking small trips to the Weyr, normally on occasions when he wouldn't really be missed.

"Father, I just didn't really get into the habit of getting to know our previous Weyrleaders at Igen. They didn't seem to really care about the Holds. They always seemed so...distant. Lady Kalusia and Lord A'rek, however, are kind and prefer to get to know their Lords Holder and their offspring, so I seemed closer to them," Iasur explained just as K'nar knocked on the open door, a look of gravity on his sun-tanned face. "Good day, Bluerider K'nar," the boy said as he bowed courteously at the man.

"Good day to you, young Iasur. I presume that was you wandering the cliffside when Ryoda and I appeared?" K'nar smiled a bit when Tasior glared at his son, who shouldn't have been on the cliffside so early in the morning. "Oh, don't worry, Tasi! If the boy had fallen with Ryodanth and I there, we would have surely caught him. And if we happened to arrive later than that, the dolphins would have tugged him back to the Hold. Besides, the boy had the sense to stay on the wider ledges!" Everyone knew that K'nar took pride in his dragon's intelligence, though K'nar insisted that his Ryodanth was smarter than even Alaeith, which was nothing more than a rider's pride in his beast. "In any case, Lord Tasior," K'nar stated, his voice suddenly taking on a professional tone, "I am here to inspect your Hold. Thread fell early at Paradise River yesterday, so every Weyr in the South was instructed to inspect their Holds for signs of ill-preparation. Though I'm sure with as good a Harper as Alegar, this inspection will more than likely be over in no time." Tasior took notice of the way the bluerider's black eyes suddenly lit up at the mention of the Harper, which confirmed his suspicions of the possibility that the young dragonman had a dual reason for being at the Seahold.

"Well then, K'nar, we'd best get started on this inspection. As I'm sure you'll assess in a while, Lunas is more than prepared for Threadfall--premature or otherwise," Tasior was saying as he led the bluerider out of the Lord Holder's quarters. Tasior, suddenly aware that he hadn't combed his hair yet, quickly ran his fingers through the brown-black locks before straightening the collar of the sea-green tunic he had put on seconds before K'nar's arrival.

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Iasur thought it a perfect time to go and welcome the blue dragon himself for coming to the Hold. He stopped and stared for a moment at Ryodanth--the dragon was an interesting shade of turquiose, almost the exact shade of the ocean outside. The blue's eyes were gently whirling blues and greens, which meant the dragon probably thought the inspection would go well. He quickly closed the distance between himself and the much larger dragon. "Good morning, Ryodanth," he said as he waved slightly up at the large draconic head. "Thank you for bringing your rider to inspect Lunas."

_Think nothing of it, young Iasur,_ Ryodanth said as he settled into a lying position, settling his head beside the young boy. _Even though I'm sure that the Lord has more than prepared Lunas for Threadfall,_ and the dragon's eyes quickly flicked oranges for a mere second before resuming their green-blue whirlpool, _I'm also sure that K'nar and I will remain here at the Hold for a while afterwards. I'll simply inform Sulith later, when K'nar informs me of such, that Lunas is adequately prepared._

Iasur thought it was an honor for the blue dragon to bespeak him, for he knew that not everyone could hear the dragons. He also thought it was funny that the blue dragon always called him 'young'--Iasur was a few Turns older than Ryodanth--but then again, he figured that dragons matured faster than humans did, so he supposed that, in a way, Ryodanth's calling him young was justified. He hoped that when he Turned eleven or twelve, a new clutch would be hardening on Eire's Sands, the dragons would come to Lunas and Search him. He knew from speaking with the blue that he could sense potential in people, and he sincerely hoped that he could be chosen by a dragon of his own, a lifelong bond with one of the magnificent protectors of the planet and its people. He regarded Ryodanth with a calculating eye, trying to figure out which dragon he'd be capable of Impressing. He couldn't imagine himself on a green--they were too proddy, and besides, were Impressed by mainly women now. He was told that, back in the Ninth Pass, greens were Impressed by only men until one green insisted on Impressing a girl--after that, girls were preferred for greens. A blue or a big brown would be adequate, though--they were more admirable for a Lord's son than a green. What would really surprise Iasur was if a bronze, who could fly the great queen dragons, and therefore become Weyrleader, chose him as its rider. But then he got to thinking that he was young yet--only eight Turns--and it was nearly every eight-Turns-old boy's secret dream to ride a dragon and fly against Thread.

_Well, I'm sure that the dragons will come here to Search,_ Ryodanth stated, startling the boy and causing him to jump a bit in surprise. _I apologize for interrupting you, but you think rather loudly. Yumeth, Shinaldra's queen, will rise to mate soon, so there will be a clutch on the Hatching Grounds soon enough. We also seem to have a shortage of Candidates this time around. I could make a suggestion to the other Search dragons and their riders that you would make a good weyrling...? _

The blue dragon's tone was one of slight disappointment, as if what he said wouldn't matter to the other Search dragons--or, Iasur thought, their riders. But if Ryodanth was correct, and Yumeth would be rising soon, then he had a chance. Even if he wasn't Impressing age, maybe he could ask the Searchriders to convince his father to allow him to live at the Weyr--if he showed even the slightest hint of potential. He would have thought more on the matter, but his father and K'nar walked up at just that moment, with Master Alegar in tow. Iasur was sure that soon after using Ryodanth to speak with Sulith, Weyrleader A'rek's great bronze, K'nar would stay at Lunas for a while. The bluerider and the Master Harper _were_ lovers, after all, and the scare with Eire Weyr's Harper dying seemed to strengthen the bond between the two--so much that Alegar was practically _begging _Masterharper Rorius to have him transferred to the Weyr.

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"You said earlier that Thread fell early at Paradise River?" Tasior was asking as Alegar finally caught up with Lord and dragonman, smiling a bit as the Harper took hold of the bluerider's outstretched hand. "I trust everything is okay there--if my memory serves me right, K'nar, you hail from Paradise River yourself, don't you...?"

"My uncle's the Steward there, and my father is Lord Holder. And from what my old friend Kh'ren told me, there was only one tragedy at Paradise River. Jadarna, my mother's oldest sister, was out gathering medicinal herbs when Thread started to fall, and she couldn't get to a safe place quick enough." The bluerider's tone suddenly grew solemn, more than likely from a fond memory of his aunt. Everyone noticed Ryodanth's sudden comforting croon, which startled every holder and fishman near the blue. "In any case, I need to inform A'rek and Kalusia of the readiness of Lunas Seahold, which is superb, I might add." K'nar's eyes gained the out-of-focus look of a rider speaking privately with his dragon for a moment before smiling at Alegar. "Now that Ryo's speaking with R'ken's Kallanth, Allie," he muttered before gently kissing the side of the Harper's neck. "Maybe we could go to Fort ourselves and speak your request to Master Rorius ourselves...? A'rek supports your decision--he says you're one of the best Harpers the Weyr could have--and Kalusia says that your living at the Weyr would keep my mind from wandering during Threadfall. I can't help but wonder if you're alright if I don't see you in a few days, and your transferring to Eire would adequately quell that worry." K'nar then glanced at Tasior, his eyes silently asking the Lord Holder if the possible removal of his Master Harper was all right with him.

"Go on, you two...you need to be together," Tasior said, a smile forming as he glanced between the two lovers. "I'm sure that Masterharper Rorius wouldn't mind assigning me another capable Harper to teach my Hold's children."

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Kyubith emerged from _between _a mere dragonlength above Trelig Hold, startling a good half-dozen holders out in the courtyard. K'ralli could feel the rumble through the brown's whithers that was draconic laughter as the dragon settled himself right in the middle of the courtyard.

"You could have picked a better time to arrive, brownrider," Lord Kami muttered angrily as he walked up beside Kyubith, glaring up at K'ralli all the while. "My holders are busy with the season's harvest, and your big dragon came and scared half the sorters to death, as well as got my youngest to crying." Kami always tried to rile any dragonrider who dared approach his Hold, and K'ralli was one of the few who didn't get the least bit irritated at the Lord's attitude. "What are you here for this time, Wingsecond?"

"Thread fell at Paradise River _yesterday_ when it wasn't due to do such until _today_," K'ralli said as he slid down Kyubith's shoulder, stressing the words to make sure the obstinate Lord understood the situation. When Kami's eyes widened slightly, he continued, "A'rek has, as is tradition in such situations, sent riders to each of Eire's Holds for a thorough inspection. I was given the honor of coming to Trelig to ensure, as I'm sure it is with such excellent Holdership, that the Hold is prepared for emminent Threadfall." K'ralli made sure that he made it seem as if it was a great honor to be chosen to inspect Trelig, to placate Lord Kami as the grueling rounds of the inspection were made. K'ralli was infinitely relieved when Kami's wife, Lady Maen, walked up with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Good day, Lord K'ralli," Maen stated as she gave a small curtsy, not once neglecting hospitality for dragonrider guests. "I heard about the tragic incident at Paradise River...I trust that Lord Yaririn and Lady Daira are taking the loss of Jadarna well? I know that Jadarna and Daira were sisters..." Maen's gentle, girlish face expressed genuine sadness for the loss of a Pernese to Thread. K'ralli knew, for Lady Maen had told him once before, that Jadarna was an old friend of hers back in their younger days. "I hope that Daira doesn't take the loss too personally--I'm sure it was on an impulse to ensure that Daira had enough healing herbs to go around that Jadarna left so early in the morning..."

"I'm sure that Weyrleader K'jin made it quite obvious to Lady Daira that her sister's death is in no way her doing. If anything, no one was at fault--no one could have known that Thread was going to Fall early! Besides, more lives would have been taken if there had not been a watchrider posted at the Hold to warn Monaco Bay if such deviations in the pattern occur." K'ralli made a slight nod and began to walk towards the Hold proper, thus telling Lord and Lady that the inspection was to start immediately. "Lord A'rek asked me to perform a particularly thorough inspection of Trelig, seeing as this marvelous Hold is scheduled for Threadfall next in Eire's jurisdiction...in any case, there's no need for silence during these matters! Maen, my Lady, how fares the babe?"

"Oh, little Kamen is doing fine--another strong son for Kami to dote on," Maen replied, sending Kami a fond glance, which issued a smile from her husband. Kami was always more open-minded when his spouse was around, and was even lessening on his opinion that dragonriders were to blame for everything that went wrong on Pern. "In any case, K'ralli, I'm sure you'll find that Trelig Hold is more than prepared for anything that Thread can throw at it," she added with a slight smirk. "My spouse keeps a sharp eye on any changes in the amount of agenothree or other supplies for the groundcrews. But enough of technicalities, K'ralli! How are things between you and Tamarin?"

"Fine, as always, Lady Maen. Still no sign of children yet, but we'll just have to wait and see, won't we...?" K'ralli's eyes darkened slightly at the small dispair that he felt whenever he was reminded of the fact that he was still childless. He had come of age when he Turned fourteen, nearly half his lifetime ago, and some of his fellow brownriders--and even a few of the blueriders--would find ways to rub their children in his face, thus strengthening his sadness.

_You are still young, Kiral...as is Tammie. The two of you will have children yet! Besides, with Anu rising fairly soon,_ Kyubith said in his cryptic way whenever he discussed Anudith's coming cycle, _Tammie will probably have a child soon._ Kyubith's eyes, gently whirling green as he settled himself on the fire-heights, blinked at his rider, the Lord, and his Lady. K'ralli always silently praised his brown for knowing just what to say to ease his mind on such matters.

"Yes, we'll see about it," Kami muttered as they reached the room that stored the flamethrowers. The thirty flamethrowers were situated on their racks, as was the norm until Threadfall, and the numerous agenothree tanks where settled below them, all neatly stacked to lessen confusion. "Here we have our flamethrowers and agenothree tanks...as you can clearly see, all are in perfect condition, and all are neatly put away." Kami snorted slightly as K'ralli, in a seemingly obvious attempt to prove him wrong, picked up a flamethrower and fiddled with the trigger, making sure that the parts all moved correctly.

"Yes, I'd say that these flamethrowers are in excellent condition, Lord Kami," K'ralli stated as he glanced over the agenothree tanks. "As well as the agenothree tanks. Nice and full, considering the amount of Thread that fell last Fall. But I know from prior experience that you ensure the tanks are always full to the brim before every Fall. Shall we move on to the protective clothing for your groundcrews?" A pleasant smile was on the brownrider's face as Kami led him to another nearby room and opened the door. Within the room were rows upon rows of the metallic armor that the groundcrews wore during Threadfall to protect them. K'ralli walked over to the nearest suit and rapped on it a few times before checking it for possible cracks or chinks. "I'd say that Trelig is more than adequately prepared for the possibility of--" K'ralli's comment was cut short by the sound of screams, as well as Kyubith's brassy roar of anger. "What in the...?" the dragonrider muttered before running towards the Hold doors. He was aware of Lord Kami following him, asking him what in Faranth's name was going on. Meantime, K'ralli was asking Kyubith the very same question.

_THREAD!_ The brown dragon's angry roars created a shaking in the Hold proper. _I have informed Sulith...he and the rest of the Weyr are on their way._ A long pause insued before Kyubith spoke again. _Ryodanth regretfully informs me that he and K'nar are in Fort, so they will be a while longer. Raidrath says that T'bias was in the middle of his inspection of Eire Hold, so they'll be here momentarily. _Suddenly the brown's roars took on a joyous tone, which led K'ralli to believe that the other dragons had arrived to help. _They come! Sulith flames...he chars! Excellent flame, Sulith! _Kyubith had a habit of doing a sort of commentary on the other dragons' performances while K'ralli steels himself for Threadfall. _Anudith flies well...as always. There is a patch of Thread above Kallanth that he cannot see! Anu spots it...she dives...brilliant flame!_ K'ralli was sent a vision of that to demonstrate the intensity of the green's fire. The rider could also see how close the Thread had come to bowling R'ken off his bronze. He silently thanked Anudith's sharp eye and quick reflexes--R'ken had always commented on Tamarin's clever flying, always stating that she was a irreplaceable wingrider. K'ralli tightened his riding jacket around his torso as he vaulted to his brown's shoulder, noticing that Kyubith's eyes were a swirling whirlpool of reds and oranges, with a barely noticable tinge of the yellow of anxiety. _When are we going to get in the air, K'ralli? A weyrling has already dropped off firestone...why are we not flying?_ Kyubith's tone was flooded with anxiety, the sign that the brown dragon was more than ready to get in the air and do what dragons did best--flame Thread out of Pern's skies.

K'ralli quickly but carefully attached the safety straps to the metal loops in his belt before giving his dragon a thump on the shoulder. _Now we fly, Kyubith...now we fly. Meet up with Sulith and Jairenth...they'll inform us of the type of Fall this seems to be._ K'ralli pumped his arm, partly to signal to the people below the brown that he was about to fly, and partly to inform the groundcrews to steel themselves for Fall. The grubs that had once protected the Southern Continent had died out several hundred Turns ago, around the end of the Tenth Pass. Since then, it became neccesary for southern Holds to procure groundcrews for Threadfall, in case Thread slipped through the wings of dragons overhead. Jairenth, A'driel's bronze, swooped down and began flying wingtip-to-wingtip with Kyubith.

"Nice to see Kyubith back in the air, K'ralli!" A'driel yelled across the distance between the two dragon necks. "I thought he'd be waiting in Trelig's Courtyard the entire Fall! Where were you?" A'driel was a thoughtful person, with a gentle face and kind lavender eyes. His dirty-blonde hair, when let loose from his riding helmet, fell a little past his shoulders, and his light skin had become tanned from sunning on the beaches near the Weyr. "Does Lord Kami really have his flamethrower stores that far into the Hold? No, he must for you to take so long to fly...in any case, A'rek says to be careful--this Thread may Fall a little differently than usual."

K'ralli nodded his acknowledgement to the bronzerider and veered a little to the left, where a large clump of the silvery Thread had escaped the higher wings. Kyubith let loose a great blast of flame that quickly turned the deadly strands into harmless black char. The rider quickly lowered the protective goggles built into his riding helmet down over his eyes, just before the still-hot black dust could enter his eyes and blind him. He gave his dragon a loud thump on his whithers to show the brown that he was proud of his effective use of flame--Kyubith had an innate sense of exactly how much fire he'd need to destroy Thread, ever since he first flew against his ancient adversary. He took the time to glance over the performance of the rest of the wings, and his eyes lingered for a moment on the dark green hides of Anudith and Tarinth, as well as the recently-come turquoise hide of blue Ryodanth. He wondered what K'nar and his blue were doing at Fort, but then quickly decided that he probably went with Alegar to present their case to Master Rorius himself, so the bluerider probably had to drop the Harper off at Lunas before coming to fight Thread. K'ralli quickly glanced over the queens' wing at the gold, blue, and green dragons, riders and flamethrowers in tow, before returning his attention to Kyubith's flying. The brown quickly took his rightful place behind and slightly to the left of Sulith before looking around to spot another clump of the deadly silver strands.

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A loud draconic scream brought A'rek's attention from the Thread falling before him, glancing down towards the lower wings. He had just enough time to see a splash of a light leaf green winking _between _before Sulith veered towards another patch of Thread.

_Akeruth, Av'ren's green,_ the bronze informed his rider as he flamed another bunch of the silver death. _She emerged from _between_ too close to Raidrath, so she veered away from him and into a patch of Thread she didn't know was there. Her left wing was badly laced, and Av'ren suffered a few scores on his near leg._ Sulith quickly glanced down at his mate before flaming a patch of Thread that was directly below him. _Alaeith flies well, _he commented with pride before adding, _she should be rising in a month or so...the weyrlings from our last clutch are nearly grown. Yumeth flies well, also--she'll rise within the next sevenday, I'm sure._ The bronze's comment on the nearness of Yumeth's rising caused the bronzerider to glance down at the young queen, who was from Alaeith's second mating with Sulith. It surprised everyone in the Weyr when Yumeth went straight for Shinaldra, who was almost past Impression age. Ryosaith, the queen from Alaeith and Sulith's first flight, had made a point to Impress a young woman, just Searched for Impression. Shinaldra stood at that Hatching, as well as a couple of Hatchings at Korani Weyr. In fact, N'jak, Korani's Weyrleader, had sent Shinaldra to Eire on the off-chance that the woman would Impress an Eire queen instead of a Korani one. A'rek knew that Yumeth was one of the better dragons from his bronze's matings, and that the bronze took a great interest in the teachings of his offspring--the queens, bronzes, and browns in particular. Another scream, this one closer to him than the last, brought A'rek's attention towards the wing just above his. He was surprised to see Jairenth suddenly disappear _between_--A'driel was a very capable rider, so it was odd that Jairenth had gotten scored badly enough to make that high-pitched scream. _Arrived from _between _into yet another patch that shouldn't have been there,_ Sulith commented before flaming yet another bunch of Thread. _A'driel apologizes for his poor flying--I told Jairenth that his rider couldn't have controlled it, so no need to apologize,_ the bronze added just as Thread finally died down. _Not too bad, for a premature Threadfall. Only Akeruth's lacing, one of the blues got hit on the trailing edge of his wingsail, and Jairenth got badly scored on his shoulder and right side. A'driel got nearly all the Thread, so they'll be out of the air for quite some time._

_And what of the blue's rider and Av'ren?_ A'rek asked his dragon as he spiraled down to meet with the groundcrew captain. He always made it a habit to speak with the groundcrews himself after Threadfall--it showed the Holders that he was a kind and thoughtful Weyrleader.

_N'thel--blue Takath's rider--was scored on his right arm and chest while trying to protect Akeruth earlier. Takath and Akeruth are weyrmates, and Takath didn't want Akeruth to get too badly scored. Unfortunately, Kisakith informs me that Koluni informed Niremu that Karden might not be able to save the man's arm. Kisakith says that N'thel's arm was half-covered in Thread by the time Takath transferred _between. The bronze dragon's eyes flashed the grey of worry for a quick second before continuing. _Kisakith says that Karden will try his best, but he doesn't promise much. Alegar helps the healer with N'thel._

_Alegar...? _A'rek was surprised to hear that the harper was at the Weyr. He figured that K'nar had dropped the man off back at Lunas, then went to fight Thread with his Weyr.

_Ryodanth said that K'nar and the harper went to see Masterharper Rorius. Alegar is now the Weyr's Master Harper, he says._

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Niremu made her rounds in the clearing in front of the Weyr proper, checking over the progress the healers were making with both riders and dragons. She hovered a bit over the healers that were tending to Jairenth and A'driel--Niremu had a fondness that was very close to a love for the older rider, and due to that, Kisakith was infatuated with bronze Jairenth. The bronze had ended up in the middle of a large clump of Thread, though his rider, A'driel, had gotten most of the damage from the silvery rain-like Thread. Jairenth had gotten the brunt of the scoring on his shoulder, though some had gotten his right side, very close to the area of the ribcage that protected the dragon's hearts. She walked away just in time--brownrider K'ralli, who would have informed A'rek immediately, had just arrived, and from the look of him, he had gotten scored a few times as well. Kyubith had a new Threadscore on his neck, making a neat half-circle on the right side of the brown's sinuous neck. It almost made it look like the dragon was wearing half of a necklace, which made Niremu laugh slightly in amusement.

_Remu, Alaeith and the other queens are arriving. Kalusia will take over from here, and she'll be able to help the healers more,_ Kisakith said as the older queens gracefully glided to the ground, with Alaeith as the head of the group. Yumeth and Ryosaith, the two younger queens, landed just behind and to either side of the larger gold, with the blue and green dragons that completed the queens' wing right behind them. Silently Niremu made a mental reminder to pay more attention to Kalusia and Jolayin's healing lessons, so that she'll be able to help the dragons and riders come next Fall.

"Niremu, how fares the injured?" Kalusia asked as she and Jolayin walked up, glancing over the remaining invalids. "For it being a premature Fall, there are few casualties. Only five injuries, and three of them serious enough to keep either dragon or rider out of their Wing for a time. K'ralli and Kyubith got a bit of a score near the end of Fall, but they'll be fine. A'rek, the fool, got a bit of char in his face when he wasn't paying attention to where the stuff was going, but again, he'll bounce right back--he always does."

"Well, Kalusia, the only ones that the healers are having problems with are N'thel, who might or might not be able to keep his arm, and A'driel and his bronze, who both got bad scorings in very inconvenient areas. Av'ren and Akeruth are comfortably resting in one of the nearby weyrs, having relatively little scoring compared to the others." Niremu quickly guided Kalusia towards the area where Master Karden was tending to N'thel's arm. Takath, N'thel's blue, was anxiously hovering his head over his injured rider, his eyes raging whirlpools of yellows and greys. "Master Alegar has been assigned to the Weyr, by the way, so he and one of the journeymen healers are trying to tend to A'driel, but Jairenth keeps scaring the journeyman with his growling."

"Why don't you go calm Jairenth down? Or better yet, stay with A'driel--Kisakith will happily help you with the bronze," Kalusia said, a slight smile at the young queenrider telling that she knew of the girl's growing love for the older bronzerider. "I'm sure that A'driel would like to come to with a pretty girl nearby. Tell me, Niremu, whatever happened to your fondness for Kelini?"

"Oh, him! He enjoys the company of Holdbred girls, rather than Weyrbred. I suppose he'd rather have a girl that is inhibited," Niremu muttered hastily before running off to where A'driel and bronze Jairenth were being treated. _Kisa, dear, I need you. Jairenth will not calm down and let the healers tend to either himself or his rider. I need you to tell him that if he doesn't calm himself, A'driel might not make it._ The girl couldn't supress the slight sadness in her voice at the thought of A'driel, or his beautiful beast, dying. It was more the thought of one of Pern's great protectors succumbing to the very thing they protect the people from.

_He says that A'driel hurts...but he refuses to calm down because his rider hurts so much. I will attempt to calm him._ Kisakith settled herself down beside the bigger dragon, looking right into the bronze's eyes. The bronze almost instantly calmed, ceasing his head-tossing above his injured rider. _Jairenth says that the healers may approach his rider, but only if you are with them. He says that he'd feel better if you helped to heal A'driel, even though you are unsure of what to do._

"Niremu, is it safe to approach him now?" Kepli, the oldest of the two journeymen, as well as Master Karden's eldest son, asked tentatively, glancing over towards the bleeding rider. "I assume it is--Jairenth stopped acting like a brooding queen over her clutch. Kisakith is exceptional at calming that bronze lad down, isn't she?"

"Well, Kisakith and Jairenth are close friends, so it's natural that Kisa would be able to calm the big guy down. In any case, Jairenth will only let you near A'driel if I accompany you, so if you'll be so kind as to teach me a few pointers," Niremu said as she guided Kepli over to the bronzerider. Within the next hour, they had patched up the older man rather well. Niremu had personally overseen the moving of the man to his temporary weyr while he recuperated.

Meanwhile, K'ralli was laughing slightly at his weyrmate's shocked face. "What, Tammie? After eleven Turns riding Kyubith, I'm not allowed to have the scars to prove it?"

"It's not that...it's just that you're such a capable rider. How in Faranth's name did you end up getting scored?"

"How did A'driel end up getting nearly bowled off of Jairenth? Or N'thel nearly losing his arm to Thread? Or Akeruth's lacing?" K'ralli countered, making sure that his points got through. "These things happen, Tamarin. I know A'driel, N'thel, and Av'ren to be very capable, careful riders, and yet they got badly scored today. It was an irregular Fall--I'm sure Anudith stated that at some point." Anudith's slight nod, a more human gesture than a draconic one, emphasized the man's point. "In any case, it's over with, and we'll be short one Wingleader, a bluerider, and a green and her rider for a while. A'driel will be out of the air for a good few months, what with those chest wounds he's gotten. N'thel will be out of action nearly as long with that arm of his. Akeruth's wing will need to heal completely before they even _think_ of letting her back into the air. I'm just grateful that you didn't get hurt--I'd rather not have to go through what I'm sure Av'ren is right now, with the possibility of N'thel losing his arm, and with it his chances of flying Thread as efficiently."

A sigh from Tamarin told him that the younger greenrider understood him. "I apologize. I suppose it's just because I was worried--about you, about Av'ren, about all that got injured in today's Fall. By the way, how did you manage to keep K'nar from getting scored that one time?"

"Well, you can thank Kyu for that one--he spotted the Thread, not me. I was looking in the completely opposite direction, so I wouldn't have caught it in time. In any case, that was a nice save you did! Did R'ken thank you for keeping him from getting seriously injured?" K'ralli inquired as Tamarin settled down in one of the high-backed chairs in their small weyr, stretching her legs out in an attempt to re-aquaint them with moving after the two-and-a-half hour Threadfall.

"If it means anything, he repeated his statement that I'm irreplaceable as a wingrider. In any case, I figured that Anu was the only one who could have flamed that Thread without accidentally flaming R'ken and Kallanth, so...I just went for it. The other dragons in the Wing weren't close enough to catch it in time, seeing as Anudith had just flamed a patch perhaps seven arm's-lengths from Kallanth..." Tamarin blushed slightly as K'ralli began to stare at her, his eyes sparkling. "What are you...staring at...?"

"You...what else would I be staring at...?" K'ralli's question made the greenrider blush even more, which issued a smile from the man's lips.

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Keltinos, Lord of Eire Hold, could not figure out what misfortune had befallen the dragons of Pern. Thread fell early twice in the South--first at Paradise River, then at Trelig Hold. The Weyrs of Pern had gone through early Threadfall before, but not one after another like it had been. He remembered a few hours before, when T'bias was making his rounds through Eire, how Raidrath, T'bias' great bronze beast, suddenly made a near-deafening roar. T'bias had informed him, as he ran through the Hold to get to his dragon, that Thread was falling at Trelig. Keltinos knew, as a Lord Holder ought, that Thread wasn't due to fall at Trelig until the next day!

"Keltinos, dear, what is the matter? Thread didn't do any damage at Trelig, thankfully," Askini, Keltinos' wife and Lady of Eire, asked as she gently massaged her husband's tense shoulders. "I know that neither you nor Tasior is entirely fond of Lord Kami, but he _is _a good Holder, after all."

"I know that, Aki, I know. I'm not faulting Lord Kami for Thread falling--Faranth knows that's not something he can control! I know, however, that Kami will find some way to blame the dragons for it!" Keltinos suddenly slammed his fist against the table, startling his son, Kelini, as he entered the room. "Forgive me, Kelini. I'm just upset for Weyrleader A'rek."

"Understood, Father...speaking of dragons, there are some Searchriders from Sorna Weyr outside. They say that Orinth has a clutch hardening, and that they are in short supply of Candidates for the hatchlings. They wish to know if they can perform a Search here at Eire Hold. And before you ask, Father, the elder Searchrider told me up front that they asked A'rek's permission to Search in Eire Weyr's jurisdiction." Kelini's blue-green eyes glittered slightly--Keltinos knew that his son was obsessed with the dragons, and that he hoped to be Searched. Kelini smiled at his father's slight nod of approval. "Then I'll just go speak to L'sinal and U'rik, who came on Search. Father, do you think either Terith or Rasenth will find any acceptable Candidates here at Eire?"

"We'll just have to see, my son," Keltinos stated, nodding for the young man to go ahead and tell the dragonriders. "Inform L'sinal and U'rik to visit my office when they're finished with the Search. It is custom for a Lord Holder to approve of the young boys and girls that are taken on dragonsearch." He knew that the rest of his request fell on deaf ears as Kelini half-ran outside to the green and blue dragons sitting in the Courtyard.

"Well, young Kelini, what does your Lord father say?" Bluerider U'rik asked as the young Holder ran up, nearly running into Rasenth's foreleg in the process. U'rik smiled at L'sinal when the young Lord instantly apologized to Rasenth for nearly bowling into him. "I'm sure Raze doesn't mind your bumping into him," U'rik stated as Rasenth leaned down and sniffed at the youth's brown hair before giving an affectionate lick, something Rasenth was not apt to do often. "He seems to have taken a liking to you anyway!"

_He has potential, _Rasenth stated, watching the lordling with a great amount of interest. _Terith says that there are about three more young ones here with great potential, as well. I suppose that's to be expected, what with all the new Holders coming South this Turn._

_Well, then, ask L'sinal to collect the others, and that we'll meet in front of Lord Keltinos' office,_ U'rik told the blue while he gently grabbed the young man's wrist. "Well, Kelini, it seems that Terith and Rasenth agree that you have potential for Impression. I'll simply talk with your father about you coming with us to Sorna. Of course, if you don't Impress at Sorna, you could return to your home, or you have the choice of going to Eire or another Weyr to see if you could Impress a dragon of a different Weyr."

"You mean I get to come with you? You mean...you mean I've been Searched?" Kelini asked, and the man couldn't suppress a sigh of relief when the bluerider nodded his head. "Of course, that's if it's alright with my father--which I don't think it'd be a problem, seeing as Mother's pregnant again, so Father will probably have a male heir anyway." Kelini, at thirteen Turns, was Keltinos and Askini's eldest child and only son so far--the youth had three younger sisters, all of whom drove him crazy. Ahosara, at ten the oldest of the three girls, was a minor nuisance at best. She tended to stay in her room and spend her free time dreaming of the day she marries, like many young girls do. Atheni, a fiery spirit of nine, was dear to Kelini's heart simply because she reminded the youth so much of himself at that age. Laenara, a gentle girl of four and the youngest so far of all, had run up to where Terith and Rasenth had settled down to sun. Kelini quickly excused himself for a moment to pluck his baby sister off of the trail leading to the fire-heights. "Just _where_ do you think you're going, young lady?" he asked her as she huffed and crossed her arms in protest. "You know Mother and Father don't want you wandering around on the heights! What if you had slipped and fallen?"

"One of the dragons would have caught me, Kelini!" Laenara stated matter-of-factly, glaring lightly at her older brother. She took the time to free herself from Kelini's grip and ran up to U'rik and smiled in her childish charming way. "Isn't that right, my lord bluerider?" Laenara's gentle eyes, cobalt with a hint of turquoise, glittered with child-like mirth as the bluerider smiled and nodded. Laenara glanced back at her brother and shot him a smug look because she was right and he was wrong. That look gave way to a look that all children give their elders when they were caught doing something they weren't supposed to as she muttered that Kelini was right, and she shouldn't have been heading up there anyhow. "Is my brother going with you, my lord?" the young girl asked U'rik, her eyes glancing back towards the blue and green dragons on the heights every so often. The two Sornian dragons had settled down beside Sasorith, the old brown watchdragon, who was awake at the moment in time. The old dragon was long since into the habit of sleeping most of his day away, waking only to announce the arrival of a dragon or the nearness of Thread to his rider, K'ser. Laenara blanched slightly when she realized that they were headed for her father's office and started to slightly edge away from Kelini, the other three youths Searched, and the two dragonriders. She sighed a little in relief when the small group didn't notice her sneaking away, and decided that she had best go play with Atheni.

"Lord Keltinos," U'rik started as he opened the door and stepped into the Lord Holder's office, "we found three youngsters that the dragons saw potential in that I'm sure you wouldn't mind losing to the Weyrs. However," he said as he motioned for Kelini to step in to the office as well, and smiled reassuringly when the young man complied. "Your son here also shows great potential, and with this being a Pass and all, we're going to need all the capable dragonfolk we can get. I already told him that he's more than welcome to go to Eire Weyr or back here to the Hold if he doesn't Impress--and even if he does, he can always transfer to Eire whenever his dragon comes of age." U'rik glanced beside him at Kelini, who was giving his father a pleading look. The bluerider smiled a bit at a memory from Turns back--a vision of himself at a younger age, standing just as Kelini was in front of his Lord, silently praying that he would be allowed to go to the Weyr.

Keltinos smiled at his son, suddenly reminded of how young Kelini was despite his Turns of life. "I don't see why he can't go on to possibly Impress one of the dragonkind," he said, glancing towards the older bluerider. "But we must understand one thing--if I fail to produce a male heir, and my daughters fail to marry before I pass on, one of Kelini's sons is to be sent here to take my place." With a sigh, Keltinos turned back to his eldest child. "Do you understand this, Kelini?" he asked, and nodded when Kelini nodded slightly in amazement. "Then I see no problem with it. My son will go to Sorna to stand at the next Hatching, and one day I'm sure he'll transfer to Eire to be nearer to his family." As the dragonriders left with the new Candidates, Keltinos found himself wondering what sort of dragon might attach itself to his son--and soon decided that he'd be proud of Kelini just for the fact that the dragons found him acceptable for Candidacy.

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Coming up in the next chapter: Candidacy at Sorna, the Hatching, and Weyrlinghood. Also, what lies in store for K'nar of Eire Weyr and Master Harper Alegar's relationship now that Alegar has been assigned to Eire Weyr?

Chapter Three will be up as soon as I can get the time to type it out between scooping cat litter and schoolwork...

-- Selrekla --


	4. Chapter Three: Falling Starlight

Author's Note: The first...I think it will be the first half or third of this chapter was written while on a road trip to the coast, so I was awake one morning at like...midnight (got woken up by someone talking about a spider in the room and couldn't get to sleep for about three hours after that)...got to looking at a document on dragonhealing I found on the internet, so decided to start writing this chappy.

CDs listened to: 12 STONES-Potter's Field (2004) & Anthem for the Underdog (2007); GODSMACK-Godsmack (1999); THREE DAYS GRACE-Three Days Grace (2003); FUEL-The Best of Fuel (2005); BREAKING BENJAMIN-We Are Not Alone (2004) & Phobia (2006)

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Chapter Three - Sorna and Eire Weyrs, Current Pass 1.20.3475-1.25.3475  
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Kelini's eyes snapped open as a voice began to tell him to get up, that he had much work to do before the day was through. Kelini knew now after his four and a half sevendays at Sorna Weyr that the voice belonged to old D'kal, the Weyrlingmaster. D'kal and his brown dragon, Ryucheth, had been relieved of his former class of weyrlings three days beforehand, so he had taken it onto himself to school the new Candidates prior to the Hatching. Kelini heard the groaning voices of the other Candidates as they began to stir, and heard Tarlinel, one of the senior Candidates, mutter about tiring of being woken by D'kal's cheerful attitude every day. Tarlinel had told the other Candidates early on that D'kal was one of those that always found positive in life, and could find something positive in something so unspeakable as a dragon's suicide after their rider passes on.

"Come now, all of you," D'kal said as Kelini slipped his boots over his feet. "Ralaren, get out of that bed this instant!" he snapped at a Candidate that had been brought to the Weyr the day before, who boldly refused to wake up. "Erirrian, if you would be so kind," he added to a young man that had been brought there the day that Kelini was, who nodded and yanked Ralaren out from the safety of his furs. "Ralaren, we cannot afford tardiness when the eggs hatch and there are young dragons looking for their riders," he told the younger man as he led the group of Candidates into the Hatching Grounds, where the dragon eggs were now at what D'kal had termed 'Hatching hardness'.

"Yes, Weyrlingmaster D'kal," Ralaren half-groaned as he gingerly stepped onto the hot sands. He had made the mistake of leaving both boots and sandals in the Weyrling Barracks, which they had moved into upon the weyrlings' graduation, and was now paying the price for such a miscalculation. "How close are the eggs to hatching, if you don't mind my asking?"

It was Tarlinel, not the brownrider, who answered Ralaren's question by saying, "They were laid almost five sevendays ago by Orinth here, so they should hatch anytime this sevenday." He glanced at Orinth, whose deep bronze-gold hide glistened in the light leaking into the building that was constructed for the purpose of hatching young dragons. "I've seen eggs mature enough times to know what they look like when they're ready to hatch." The monotone voice was one belonging to a person that had recently given up a specific hope--in this case, it was Tarlinel's of Impressing a dragon.

"Yes, young Tarlinel has a valid assumption of the nearness of the Hatching ceremony. Now, if you'll all follow me, we can begin our lesson for today," D'kal stated jovially as he lead all but Kelini and Tarlinel over to the eggs before bowing to Orinth and asking her permission to allow the Candidates the chance to touch the eggs. He continued in his re-teaching the young dragonriders-to-be how to act around the dragonets as Kelini approached his now-distant friend.

"Care to explain why you're suddenly so stricken?" he asked as the older Candidate watched the others gather around the eggs, each one trying to determine which color dragonet resided within which eggshell. "You've been acting different for the past sevenday, you know. It's not like you to be so...distant...from the others."

Tarlinel's brilliant green eyes flashed angrily towards his friend for a brief moment before turning their icy gaze back upon the hardened eggs. "And how would _you_ know how I normally act? You, who arrived at this Weyr when...? A month ago? I lived as a Candidate at Telgar Weyr for two Turns before being sent to Korani Weyr, where I stayed a Turn and a half before being transferred here two Turns ago. I have made many friends, and I have also seen many of them become dragonriders right in front of my eyes while I am left behind, still unpaired with a dragon partner. It's become quite clear to me that I probably will not Impress, as I am nearly past Impression age. I am simply coming to terms with my life." The young man's eyes, usually a warm shade of leaf green, were darkened by depression to a color that was like a deep forest thrown into unlifting shadows. Black hair that, when immersed in sunlight, betrayed the blood red hidden in its darkness soon moved to cover the man's eyes as he turned his gaze away from the group of younger people. At fourteen, Tarlinel had been whisked away from his Crom Hold home to become a Candidate. Now twenty, repeated disappointment had changed a carefree, smiling youth into a man held captive by failure in a dark abyss in his mind. He admitted to himself that he envied Kelini, whose hope at Impressing a dragon was so fresh compared to his own half-shattered dream. A part of his mind also began to whisper the fact that he also liked Kelini very much. One green orb glanced through black threads to chance another look at the young son of a Lord Holder.

The young man was handsome, with skin whose color was neither medium-cast nor dark-hued, but lay at some indistinquishable--at least to Tarlinel--point in between. Eyes that were nearly the same bronze-gold of Orinth's hide glistened beside a lock of brown-gold hair that dangled along his face to brush against a squared jawline. Tarlinel found himself wondering if this hungry-eyed boy would Impress at his first Hatching, or if he, too, would be left cold and shattered on the burning sands. That thought was quickly brushed aside as Kelini hugged him suddenly in an attempt to cheer the older Candidate up. He gave in to the younger's embrace and concluded that if he Impressed or not, that would be fine by him--he would continue to live in the Weyr regardless. M'kin, who was now a rider in bronzerider N'koz's wing, would enjoy his company, though not for the reason he would have preferred. The dragonman was a bronzerider, after all, and wouldn't find his own sex very appealing.

Tarlinel's bisexual tendencies always were a source of tension between himself and his father, who tried everything he could to get his son to forget about other men entirely, but all had come to naught. When the Searchriders from Telgar came and asked Azawal if his son could be allowed to stand at the Hatching, the man was more than relieved that his 'strange' son would be in a place where his fondness towards other men would not be discouraged. In some small way, he supposed he could thank Azawal for his even _being_ in a Weyr at all.

"Now, one thing you must always remember is that when a dragonet breaks its shell, its first priority will be to find their riders--anything or anyone that gets in their way will be subject to trampling. If you see a dragonet coming towards you at more than a walking speed, move out of their way, or you will risk literally being walked on," D'kal told the Candidates, taking in the expressions on their faces. Some, like Ralaren and Erirrian, were shocked that dragonkind would do such a thing; others, like Kelini, held mild understanding that the dragonets would be young, and therefore unable to fully comprehend what they were doing until they found their lifemates. A glance in Tarlinel's direction told D'kal what he wanted to know; the younger man wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying. With a shake of his head, the brownrider took his attentions back to the other Candidates, who were eagerly awaiting the rest of their lesson before yet another premature Threadfall could befall them.

---------------

Alegar fingered the silver locket he usually kept hidden beneath his tunic before walking out into Ryodanth's weyr. K'nar had left earlier that morning to visit his family in Paradise River, so the blue dragon was nowhere to be seen. The harper had a few days free of lessons--"to allow you to settle in your new home" was Kalusia's reasoning--so he had to find something to do to occupy his time while his lover was away. He had already fully cleaned K'nar's sleeping chambers and swept all the dust off of Ryodanth's stone couch, so he figured now was as good a time as any to aquaint himself with the Weyrfolk. As he exited the weyr mouth and began to scale the steps leading up to the Weyr proper, he was startled by a young boy wandering the steps.

"Greetings, young one," he said as he walked up to the boy and plucked him from his precarious position atop the railing. "I just got here the other day, and I'm afraid I still don't really know my way around...would you be so kind as to escort me to the Weyrwoman's weyr?" He knew from experience that a weyr in the southern continent is different than one in the north, mostly comprising of a clearing for the dragon and a small building for the rider. Some southern riders preferred to weyr out in the few caves on the cliffs, like K'nar; while still others preferred the peacefulness of the beaches, like Tamarin and K'ralli.

"My pleasure, Master Alegar," the boy said with a smile. By Alegar's calculations, he looked around five or six Turns, with a startling combination of deep black hair and pale blue-gold eyes. There was a familiarity in the boy's face that the harper simply could not figure out, and the boy gave a candid smirk at the elder's confused face. "I'll show you the way, but first I want to show you something!" he added as he leaped the seven steps to the landing below, nearly slipping and falling flat on his face as he did so. "Come on, Alegar! Stop wasting time!" he said when the older man began to slowly descend the steps. "By the way, I'm Karek, but everyone just calls me Karrie," he added almost like an afterthought when Alegar caught up to him. By that time, Karek had already reached the beach below the cliffs and was half-jogging towards a nearby cave.

A sudden memory leaped in Alegar's mind, and he mentally kicked himself for having not realized it before. "That's how you seemed familiar! You're A'rek and Kalusia's eldest, and I should have seen it; you have your father's eyes, you know." It was funny to the harper that now that he knew the boy's name, the many similarities and nuances between parents and child made themselves all too clear. The shape of Karek's eyes was that of his father's, and his build was showing to be more willowy like his uncle T'rel, who was Kalusia and Tamarin's older brother and a Wingleader at High Reaches Weyr. The color of the boy's eyes, now that Alegar was getting a good look at him, was a mixture between his parents' families--the blue was the oceanic color of his father's, while the gold was the pale, sun-lit color famous in not only T'rel, but also in the bronzerider's mother, Tara.

"I was wondering if you'd notice that," the boy said as they entered the cave. "Now here is where you'll have to be quiet, as she's very protective of her young ones." Karek smirked slightly at Alegar's sudden pause, then turned forward and gave a three-note whistle. Soon afterwards, a golden fire-lizard fluttered to the mouth of the cave and chittered happily at Karek. The moment the little queen saw the harper, however, she began to hiss and spiral above Karek's head. "Calm yourself, little one," he muttered before chancing a glance at Alegar. "This is Master Alegar; he's one of the Harpers, and a very kind man. He won't harm your fair, but he would like to see your eggs, if that's okay with you." The little golden lizard fluttered away, and Karek turned and chuckled at the harper's shocked look. "I caught her fair flying in here a sevenday or so ago, so I followed them and well...here we are! I counted them all, and she has twelve bronzes, ten browns, twelve blues, and thirteen greens following her around. All in all, a pretty big fair." A few moments passed before the queen returned and began to tug at Karek's tunic, signaling the two humans to follow her.

"By the Egg!" Alegar muttered as they reached the end of the long cavern. He knelt over a hollow dug into the sand and peered at the tiny treasures carefully placed within. "There must be close to twenty eggs in here. I wonder if she'd--" the harper's spoken thought was cut short as Karek cupped a small hand over the elder's mouth. Karek gave a quick warning glance that screamed not to say anything about taking the eggs before he released the man's lips. Alegar quickly drug the younger out of the cave and back up to K'nar's weyr opening. "Do you realize how many fire-lizard eggs were lying there? Besides, fire-lizards haven't been Impressed by humans since way back--"

"Way back in the Eleventh Pass, I know," Karek interrupted and nervously glanced downward in an attempt to assess that the little queen hadn't followed them. "We can discuss fire-lizards with A'rek and Kalusia later. What is that necklace around your neck? The times I've been to Lunas Seahold's Gathers, I've never seen that necklace!" The boy stared at Alegar's locket and, with natural child-like curiousity, began to reach up to touch it. A groan of exasperation escaped the boy's throat as Alegar quickly tucked the necklace back under his tunic.

"That, Karek, is none of your concern. It was passed down through my family, and some day it will be handed to one of my nieces or nephews." He sighed slightly when the boy gave a look of disappointment, and the harper's eyes shot to the ground. "I'll let you look at it another day," he added to keep the boy from getting upset. "Now, I do believe that you were going to take me to your parents' weyr...?" he reminded Karek as he glanced up towards the cliff top, where he could now see Sulith and Alaeith heading towards the nearby beach, apparently to either swim or relax in the warm waters, as he could see neither rider atop the large dragons. "Do they do that often?" he asked the boy as they reached the plateau.

"Who? Alaeith and Sulith? Only when A'rek and Kalusia tell them to relax. Most of the time, they're at the weyr or, on rare times, out hunting." Karek led Alegar to a clearing some distance from the Weyr proper. "Here we are--the Weyrwoman's quarters. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to help gut and clean the fish that were caught for tonight's dinner." He bowed slightly to the harper and quickly ran off just before A'rek came out of the building sitting in the center of the large clearing.

"Master Alegar! I was just wondering when you would arrive here. Did someone escort you? I could have sworn I heard that little scamp I call my son out here," A'rek said as Kalusia stepped out, looking as if she'd just come out of a shower and hurriedly dressed. "Ah, well...knowing Karek, he's off to _finally_ do his work!"

Kalusia, who had quickly run back into their shack for something, walked up to the two men with a glass of fruit juice in each hand. "I know you two would probably enjoy wine more, but it's a bit early in the day for that, I think," she said with a smile as A'rek frowned at the cup in his hand. "Oh, stop it! You know you shouldn't be drinking wine before a conference anyway. You must have a clear head when you arrive a Fort Weyr," she added as Alegar nodded his thanks for the drink.

"Kalusia, I was wondering how many youngsters you have here at the Weyr, and how many women are expecting within the Turn," Alegar asked after taking several judicious sips of his juice, glancing back towards the Weyr proper. "I have to know so that I can pick out a good place to hold my lessons." He anxiously glanced east, towards Paradise River and his love.

Kalusia noticed the glance, but chose to ignore it. "Well, Master Alegar, we currently have quite a few children and expecting mothers here. I suggest you perform your lessons on the beach, preferably right at the point." Kalusia gestured towards the general area of Eire point before risking a glance towards her sister Tamarin's weyr. "Have you spoken to K'ralli yet this morning? He'd be able to show you the perfect spot for teaching the youngsters."

Alegar glanced towards the area of beach that Tamarin and K'ralli called their weyr and turned his mercury orbs back to the Weyrwoman. "No, I haven't yet, Kalusia, but I can assure you that I will now. I'd like to scope out my prospective 'classroom' before announcing when my first lesson will be." The harper glanced down the Weyr cliff and grew slightly nauseous at the thought of going down the many flights of stairs a second time. "Oh, by the way, A'rek, your son showed me something rather interesting earlier, but I suppose to you, it'd be nothing but a...small...perhaps trivial, matter," he added, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that his meaning got across to the couple. He was glad to see that Kalusia's eyes had widened slightly in surprise and started whispering to her mate, an excited glint in the woman's blue eyes.

A small sigh of relief escaped his lips as A'zak, the Weyrlingmaster and rider of the aging brown Loreth, walked up, smiling slightly at his Weyrleaders before turning to the harper. "Good day, A'zak! Just out of curiosity, but would you be so kind as to escort me to K'ralli and Tamarin's weyr? I've been up and down the Weyr cliff all morning, and I just can't make it down to the beach again for quite some time. I need to discuss possible locations to hold my classes with K'ralli." He couldn't hold back the slight gasp of surprise when Loreth landed beside A'zak, almost knocking the harper off the cliff with the gust from his wings. "And could you kindly tell your brown to warn me before he does something like that again...?" The brownrider simply smiled at the younger man before gaining the typical glazed look that signaled a rider bespeaking his dragon.

"Loreth said that he was immensely sorry for nearly knocking you off, and that you looked firmly planted on the ground," A'zak relayed before the brown dragon leaned down and raised his long forearm. "Now, if you'll just hop on, Loreth will take you to where you need to go." He noticed the younger's shocked look at the fact that Loreth had no harness or safety straps on him and laughed slightly. "My dragon has carted many people along the beach that fronts this Weyr, he'll do nothing that would merit you tumbling off. Besides which, Lor was just heading to the ocean to bathe, and when I told him where you needed to be, he said that he'd enjoy Kyubith and Anudith's company, so long as Kyubith didn't think that he was going to try to move in on his green! Not that Loreth _could_, with his age and all--he'd be no match for all these younger dragons who'll be competing for young Anudith." The aging dragonrider looked at his brown with pride before looking back at Alegar. "But he's still got some fight in him, and we'll try our best to see this Pass through."

"I'm sure that you will, A'zak! You're barely in your seventh decade, and Loreth is only fifty-four Turns old, so you'll both be fighting-ready for a while yet." Alegar glanced at the large brown, whose eyes were whirling gently blue-green and added, "Loreth looks content that he'll see the Pass end." With that, the harper hopped onto the raised leg, which slowly rose to where the tall man could leap from just below Loreth's elbow to the proper seat between the last two neck ridges. When Alegar finally settled on the brown neck, Loreth walked to the edge of the cliff and used the cliff edge itself to leap into the air. He kept his eyes closed and his hands firmly locked on the brown's neck ridges until he felt the shudder of landing ripple through the dragon's frame. As much as he loved dragons and riding, he was infinitely more confident on the smaller form of blue Ryodanth, especially with K'nar there to keep him from falling off. Grateful for the shortness of the flight, he carefully slid off Loreth's back and watched as the brown hopped into the sky before settling down in the ocean, where brown Kyubith and green Anudith soon followed. It was then that Alegar really began to notice the signs of Loreth's age; the slight greying around the muzzle that Kyubith's young face lacked, the greying cast to the dark brown hide, even the hint of joint-stiffness when put next to two very young dragons. Shaking his head slightly, the harper continued to the small shack that passed as sleeping quarters for the two dragonriders.

"I'm coming, hold on a moment," K'ralli's baritone drifted from the direction of the bathing room as the door opened, revealing a young woman Alegar knew to be the brownrider's weyrmate, Tamarin. The harper could instantly see why K'ralli found so much joy in the young greenrider; she had this way about her that lightened moods and settled disruption. If she hadn't Impressed Anudith, Tamarin would have made a fine Weyrwoman--but Alegar knew that the woman and her green dragon were well suited to each other.

"Good afternoon, Master Harper," Tamarin stated as she stepped further inside and motioned for the harper to enter the weyr. "I'm afraid you've caught K'ralli in the middle of a shower, so you'll have to wait a moment before you can speak to him." The greenrider smirked at the surprise on the older man's face and added, "Loreth explained to Anudith and Kyubith that you were here to discuss possible locations with K'ralli. You'll learn soon enough, if you haven't already, that the dragons are constantly talking amongst themselves." A light thud, quickly followed by a muffled curse, brought the attention of the rider and the harper as K'ralli stumbled into the room, favoring his left foot. "I've told you a thousand times that you should watch where your feet are going, Kiral! That's five times in three days you've stubbed your toe on the chest."

"Well, I keep forgetting that we moved it, Tammie," K'ralli muttered, looking apologetic towards the window, where all could see the younger brown dragon glancing anxiously towards the small shack. He then shook his foot slightly before turning his emerald gaze on the harper. "Alegar, please tell me that you're not here on business! You take nearly all of your time thinking about your work...even K'nar told me you hardly take a break unless he _makes_ you." The brownrider sighed after a few moments of careful consideration. "Where's A'zak? Out swimming with the dragons, I'm sure. You could learn a thing or two from him, you know; he takes time to have some fun!" He waved to the older rider as he and the harper walked out of the weyr and started heading along the beach. A long while passed before the rider said anything else. "Speaking of K'nar, I know he's out visiting his family today, with A'rek's permission, of course. Be sure to tell him when he gets back that I wish to discuss something with him."

"Rest assured, K'ralli, I will. Now, A'rek said that you'd know the perfect stretch of beach for me to hold my classes?" Alegar wondered where the dragonman would take him, as they had walked a fair distance already, and he didn't want to have to venture too far without draconic assistance in returning. "How far do you think we'd have to travel in order to reach it? My charges won't have to employ the dragons to get to it, will they?"

K'ralli laughed at the myriad of inquiries the harper was shooting. As he was always taught, a harper's third natural tool was his mouth. "Settle down, Alegar! It's the next cove over, so no one will absolutely have to ask a dragon for help unless they've broken a leg." The brownrider smiled at the harper's amazed expression when they arrived at the cove. When asked why he and Tamarin built their weyr somewhere other than the cove, he simply told the harper that they figured someone else would get better use of it.

---------------

Tarlinel was busy cleaning out the Infirmary when he heard loud humming..._familiar_ humming. "So, the Hatching starts...and yet again, I'll be left standing," he muttered to himself as he set the broom back in the corner and walked to the designated room beyond the Hatching Grounds and slid the white robe over his head. He dreaded standing at another Hatching--he just _knew_ that no dragon in this clutch would accept him. A sigh escaped him as Kelini started tugging at his arm, leading him towards the blistering Sands. He couldn't help but smile when Kelini shoved him towards the eggs and told him that if he didn't cheer up and stop acting so damned gloomy, he'd have to punch him.

"Look!" an awed voice (unless he was mistaken, sounded like Erirrian) said as one large egg shattered, the shards flying in every direction to reveal a brown dragon, still dark from the egg fluids. The little dragonet stumbled towards Shaliel, a healer boy from Korani, and butted him, nearly toppling Shaliel as he yelled, "He said his name's Caereth!" The new dragonrider, now Sh'lel, led his little brown off the Sands, where D'kal stood waiting, pail of meat in hand.

Another egg cracked while a little green tipped Lassirra, a girl from the north, over and started licking her face. "Calm down, Aeareith! We'll get you something to eat as soon as you get off of me!" The girl coaxed the pale green dragonet off of her and allowed the little beast's nose to lead them to the pail of fresh meat. The blonde girl's gentle copper eyes lit up with joy for the new life bonded to her own as other riders came into her own.

Tarlinel watched with mild curiosity as another pale green dragonet, flecked with the purest of emeralds, started stumbling awkwardly towards him and Kelini. For a fleeting second he wondered if the little green wanted him, but quickly dismissed that idea as folly. That was quickly confirmed when the dragonet, still stumbling on unsteady legs, started nuzzling her head against Kelini's waist, and the younger man began to gently rub the little dragon's eye ridges. "So what's her name, Kelini?" Tarlinel asked, purposefully excluding the dragonrider honorific to see if he would be corrected.

"It's K'lini now, Tarlin," the weyrling corrected instantly, making the Candidate smile a little. "And her name is Meirath." K'lini's eyes scanned the Hatching Grounds and smirked slightly at his friend. "And unless I'm wrong, you're being looked for yourself," he added, pointing towards the one of the last of the dragonets to hatch, a little brown.

But not just _any_ brown, Tarlinel realized. This brown was a beautiful shade of golden brown, with small splashes of a deep chestnut sprinkled throughout the dragonet's hide. He watched as the little dragonet, easily the largest brown of this clutch, glanced in his direction and started heading straight for him, chirping piteously. Overcome by the thought of finally Impressing, Tarlinel unconsciously closed the distance between himself and the little brown before he collapsed to his knees, causing the little dragon to flutter his wings in surprise. "Calm down, little one! I'm fine," he told the dragonet as he reached over and rubbed the brown's neck, still amazed that this perfect creature wanted him.

_And why wouldn't I?_ the question popped into Tarlinel's mind so suddenly that he almost fell back in surprise. _You are mine, I'm yours, and it will _always_ be that way. Now, may I please eat? It took a lot of energy to get out of that shell, you know._

"Right away, my beautiful one," Tarlinel told the little brown as he and K'lini led their new lifemates to their food, both grinning from ear to ear. He glanced at K'lini and smiled, glad to have finally come into his own. "His name is Shavreth, K'lini," he told the new greenrider before glancing up in thought. "And I'll go by T'rinel from now on. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? T'rinel and Shavreth."

"It certainly does, T'rinel," D'kal said as he handed the two new dragonriders their lifemates' first meal. "So you Impressed this time, I see. And a brown, at that! You know, there were some Candidates that were so sure you'd never manage to Impress, and most of those who said that were left standing!" The Weyrlingmaster's copper-gold eyes turned their attention from T'rinel to K'lini and blinked in slight surprise. "A green, K'lini? Strange, seeing as I've heard of your...friendship...with a queenrider at Eire."

"For one thing, nothing happened there. And for another, _she_ showed interest in me, not the other way around. I had to pretend to be chasing after some Hold girl to get her to back off." K'lini's bronze-gold eyes glanced toward Meirath, who chirped happily as she was handed a scrap of meat. "I've just never really been that interested in women, but as my father's son, I was expected to provide Eire Hold with future Lords. Here, I can be myself; I don't have to hide the fact that I can't stand women in a romantic sense."

"Well, you two finish feeding your dragonets. They'll sleep afterward, and you'll be welcome to join your families for the feast," D'kal said as he walked away to check on the other new weyrlings.

"Well, I'm going to eat, but I doubt my father's here," T'rinel said as he glanced at K'lini. "I know your parents are here, because I saw them walk out of the Hatching Grounds. Of course, your parents are Lord and Lady Holder, so I guess they could get transport here a little easier than my father could...especially with your father's Hold being relatively close. My father lives way up in Crom, so it's probably a case of the Telgar riders being busy."

---------------

T'rinel woke the next morning to an intense feeling of hunger in the back of his mind. He sat up in his bed and glanced around in slight confusion before settling on the brown form of Shavreth sitting nearby. The little dragon's eyes were whirling red with hunger, and T'rinel instantly jumped up and led him outside, where another pail of meat was waiting for them. He knew from his friends that had Impressed before him that after this he'd have to carve up Shavreth's food himself, so he'd have to start waking earlier to keep up with his dragon's eating schedule.

_Thank you,_ Shavreth said happily as he started wolfing down the strips of meat, which soon slowed when his rider told him to eat slower or he'd choke. _You wouldn't let that happen, would you, T'rinel?_ the brown asked as he neared the bottom of the bucket.

"Not willingly, Shavreth," the man answered as the dragon swallowed the last bite and yawned. "Now, off to the cove with you, and you'll get a bath as soon as you wake," he told the brown, pointing to the large cove near the Weyrling Barracks that was used for bathing dragons. He walked into the eating area as Lassirra bumped right into his left side, causing both to tumble over each other. "Oh, sorry, Lassirra! I didn't see you there," he added quickly, standing and holding a hand out to the girl as she started to stand herself.

"It's fine, T'rinel. K'lini and the other weyrlings are over there if you want to sit down and eat," she replied, pointing to the farthest table in the room and winking slightly. "I know K'lini's more than happy for your Impressing that brown. He wouldn't stop talking about how happy you looked last night when he told you that Shavreth was looking everywhere for you!" She waved at the brownrider before walking towards Aeareith, who had just woken up.

T'rinel shook his head slightly and gathered his breakfast before walking over to the weyrling table and settling himself at the end, well away from the others. A slightly annoyed sigh slipped past his lips when two other weyrlings sat down nearby and looked at him before beginning to whisper between each other.

"Your brown's name is Shavreth, right?" the younger-looking of the two asked, looking wide-eyed at the older weyrling. "I thought so," he added after T'rinel nodded slightly. "My name's M'lani, and my green is Falasith." The twinkle in the younger man's eyes told T'rinel that he was fond of the new brownrider.

The elder of the other weyrlings, a bronzerider from the look of his shoulder knots, rolled his eyes slightly. "Ignore him, T'rinel. He's a little too ecstatic at Impressing last night. I'm A'raku, and my bronze is named Galenth. I'm glad to hear that you and Shavreth found each other; it would have been a bad omen to have a dragon die at a Hatching because he couldn't find the right personality." A cough from M'lani's direction incited a glare from the elder weyrling. "Or she," he corrected, shaking his head a little when M'lani smirked slightly. "In any case, it's a good thing all the dragons at this Hatching found their riders," A'raku continued, smiling with the large grin all new riders have when they speak of their dragons.

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END OF CHAPTER THREE

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Coming up in Chapter Four: More Weyrling insight from Sorna Weyr, as well as the discovery of one obvious pairing and one not-so-obvious. Also, more insight on Alegar's relationship with K'nar! I hope to see you all soon!


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